Rank: Sergeant
Unit: M Company, 3rd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment
MOS: 11E – Armor Crewman
Awards: Bronze Star Medal with Valor Device, Purple Heart Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
Badges: Combat Infantryman Badge
Unit awards: Meritorious Unit Citation, Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm device
Enlisted by: Regular
Date of birth: 22-Apr-1946
Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Marital status: Married to Beverly McGaughey
Campaign: Vietnam Conflict
Entered service: May-1967
Start of tour: 23-Aug-1966
Incident date: 5-Dec-1966
Date of casualty: 5-Dec-1966
Age at death: 20
Cause of death: Hostile, died. Small Arms Fire. Gun or small arms fire.
Paul McGaughey Jr died on 5 Dec 1966 in Vietnam as the result of gunshot wound to the head received in hostile ground action.
Two Blackhorse troopers died in this incident:
PFC Larry M. Barnhill
SGT Paul McGaughey Jr
Location of fatality: South Vietnam
Place of interment: Grove Hill Cemetery, Shelbyville, Kentucky, USA
View this soldier‘s Find a Grave page (opens in a new window)
BRONZE STAR MEDAL
WITH VALOR DEVICE
POSTHUMOUS
SERGEANT PAUL McGAUGHEY
5 DECEMBER 1966
M COMPANY, 3rd SQUADRON
11TH ARMORED CAVALRY REGIMENT
Sergeant McGaughey distinguished himself by valorous actions on 5 December 1966 while serving as tank commander during a search and destroy operation in Phuoc Tuy Province. Although he was not the regularly assigned tank commander, Sergeant McGaughey volunteered to move his tank in a blocking maneuver against a well-fortified Viet Cong bunker system. He received permission and moved immediately into the sporadic fire to engage and neutralize the hostile emplacements. Heavy automatic weapons fire began to rake his exposed position and the dismounted ground troops in the vicinity. With complete disregard for his personal safety, he steered his tank directly into the hostile threat. During this aggressive maneuver, he was fatally wounded. Sergeant McGaughey’s personal bravery and devotion to duty, at the cost of his life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
Headquarters, United States Army Vietnam General Orders No. 2 (2 January 1967)