intense fire as he fearlessly moved from
casualty to casualty, administering lifesaving
aid. A B-40 rocket impacted just
meters from Sergeant Rose, knocking him
from his feet and injuring his head, hand,
and foot. Ignoring his wounds, Sergeant
Rose struggled to his feet and continued
to render aid to the other injured soldiers.
During an attempted medevac, Sergeant
Rose again exposed himself to enemy
fire as he attempted to hoist wounded
personnel up to the hovering helicopter,
which was unable to land due to
unsuitable terrain. The medevac mission
was aborted due to intense enemy fire
and the helicopter crashed a few miles
away due to the enemy fire sustained
during the attempted extraction. Over the
next two days, Sergeant Rose continued
to expose himself to enemy fire in order
to treat the wounded, estimated to be
half of the company’s personnel. On
September 14, during the company’s
eventual helicopter extraction, the enemy
launched a full-scale offensive. Sergeant
Rose, after loading wounded personnel
on the first set of extraction helicopters,
returned to the outer perimeter under
enemy fire, carrying friendly casualties
and moving wounded personnel to
more secure positions until they could
be evacuated. He then returned to the
perimeter to help repel the enemy until
the final extraction helicopter arrived. As
the final helicopter was loaded, the enemy
began to overrun the company’s position,
and the helicopter’s Marine door gunner
was shot in the neck. Sergeant Rose
instantly administered critical medical
treatment onboard the helicopter, saving
the Marine’s life. The helicopter carrying
Sergeant Rose crashed several hundred
meters from the evacuation point, further
injuring Sergeant Rose and the personnel
on board. Despite his numerous wounds
from the past three days, Sergeant Rose
continued to pull and carry unconscious
and wounded personnel out of the
burning wreckage and continued to
administer aid to the wounded until
another extraction helicopter arrived.
Sergeant Rose’s extraordinary heroism
and selflessness above and beyond
the call of duty were critical to saving
numerous lives over that four-day time
period. His actions are in keeping with the
highest traditions of military service and
reflect great credit upon himself, the 1st
Special Forces, and the United
States Army.
US Army photo by Eboni Everson-Myart.
PRIVATE FIRST-CLASS
JAMES C. MCCLOUGHAN
UNITED STATES ARMY
Private First Class James C. McCloughan
distinguished himself by acts of gallantry
and intrepidity at the risk of his life above
and beyond the call of duty from 13 - 15
May 1969, while serving as a combat
medic with Company C, 3d Battalion, 21st
Infantry, 196th Light Infantry Brigade,
Americal Division. The company air
assaulted into an area near Tam Ky and
Nui Yon Hill. On May 13th, with complete
disregard for his life, he ran 100 meters in
an open field through heavy fire to rescue
a comrade too injured to move and carried
him to safety. That same day, 2d Platoon
was ordered to search the area near Nui
Yon Hill when the platoon was ambushed
by a large North Vietnamese Army
force and sustained heavy casualties.
With complete disregard for his life
and personal safety, Private First-Class
McCloughan led two Americans into the
safety of a trench while being wounded by
shrapnel from a rocket propelled grenade.
He ignored a direct order to stay back and
braved an enemy assault while moving
into the “kill zone” on four more occasions
to extract wounded comrades. He treated
the injured, prepared the evacuation, and
though bleeding heavily from shrapnel
wounds on his head and body, refused
evacuation to safety in order to remain
at the battle site with his fellow Soldiers
who were heavily outnumbered by
North Vietnamese Army forces. On May
14th, the platoon was again ordered to
move out towards Nui Yon Hill. Private
First-Class McCloughan was wounded
a second time by small arms fire and
shrapnel from a rocket propelled grenade
while rendering aid to two Soldiers in an
open rice paddy. In the final phases of
the attack, two companies from the 2d
North Vietnamese Army Division and an
element of 700 soldiers from a Viet Cong
regiment descended upon Company C’s
position on three sides. Private First-
Class McCloughan, again with complete
disregard for his life, went into the
President Donald J Trump hosts the Medal
of Honor ceremony for former Specialist Five
James C McCloughan at the White House in
Washington, DC, 31 July 2017. US Army photo
by Eboni Everson-Myart.
92 ARMY 245: Call to Duty