VIETNAM - MCGAUGHEY, PAUL JR

McGaughey, Paul Jr

VIETNAM - MCGAUGHEY, PAUL JR
McGAUGHEY, PAUL JR

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)

Vietnam Veterans Memorial panel and row: 13E 014 (view Vietnam Veterans Memorial link in a new window)

 

BRONZE STAR MEDAL

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)