James C. McCloughan

In May 1969, James C. McCloughan was a 23-year-old army Private First Class serving as an infantry platoon medic in Vietnam. McCloughan was a veteran of combat and had already been awarded Combat Medical Badge, two Purple Hearts, and two Bronze Stars. McCloughan was also nominated for the Medal of Honor (MOH) for his actions during the two day Battle of Nui Yon Hill.

Although the Medal of Honor must be awarded within five years of the incident, a waiver of the time limit can be given by Congress. McCloughan's case has been brought before Congress for that waiver and for approval of the award of the MOH by U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, both D-Mich., and U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph almost 50 years late.

McCloughan said of the award, "This is not a James McCloughan award, it's an award for my men, for Charlie Company. We had a horrendous battle, a situation you will never forget. Â… I wasn't going to leave my men, and they were going to protect me."

The battle began when 89 soldiers were brought to the area by helicopter without the intelligence which might have shown that they were greatly outnumbered. The unit was placed in a position where they could block movement by North Vietnamese Army troops. When they engaged the North Vietnamese force the resulting battle would cost the Americans a heavy toll. Of the original 89, 32 survived, 12 were killed, and 45 were wounded or were missing.

Despite having suffered numerous grenade shrapnel wounds and being shot through one arm, McCloughan kept returning to the kill zone and managed to save 10 soldiers from his own and other platoons.

McCloughan became a teacher and a coach for 40 years at South Haven High School in South Haven, Michigan. He is, like so many other veterans, a quiet hero whose moment happened in a place most Americans have never heard of.

Jack Dragoni attended Boston College and served in the U.S. Army in Berlin and Vietnam. He lives in Chaffee, Missouri.