The President: Thank you very much.
Please be seated.
Thank you, Chaplain Hurley.
Secretary Mnuchin, Secretary Mattis,
Secretary Shulkin, Senator Stabenow, Congressman
Upton, and members of the Armed Forces: Thank you
for joining us as we award our nation's highest
military honor to Specialist Five
James C. McCloughan.
Today, we pay tribute to a veteran who went above and
beyond the call of duty to protect our comrades, our
country, and our freedom.
Joining Jim today is his wife Cherie, his brothers
Mike and Tom, his sons Jamie and Matt, and many
other members of his very large and beautiful family.
We're also gratified to be joined by eight previous
Medal of Honor recipients.
Now, Jim's name will stand forever alongside theirs
in our history and in our hearts.
I want to take a few minutes to tell you about
Jim and how he earned this place among legends.
Jim was raised in Bangor, Michigan.
His father built their house from scratch and
worked 40 years at a piano factory.
Jim's dad taught him a simple but powerful
lesson: Never do anything halfway.
Always do your best.
Jim took that lesson very much to heart.
He played for four varsity sports in high school and
three in college.
In August of 1968, Jim was drafted into the Army.
Within six months, he was trained as a medic and
arrived in Vietnam.
Right away, Jim poured all of himself into his duties
treating the sick and the wounded.
Before long, all his fellow soldiers called him
"Doc."
On May 13, 1969, less than three months after he
arrived, Jim was one of 89 men in Charlie Company to
embark on a mission to secure a transportation
route near Nui Yon.
As Jim and his men jumped out of the helicopter, it
quickly became clear that they were surrounded
by enemy troops.
Within minutes, two choppers were shot down,
and one of his men was badly wounded in the
middle of an open field.
Jim did not hesitate.
He blazed through 100 meters of enemy fire to
carry the wounded and the soldier to safety.
But this was only the first of many heroic deeds
Jim would perform over the next 48 hours.
After tending to the first wounded soldier,
Jim joined a mission to advance toward the enemy,
and advance they did.
Before long, they were ambushed.
Again, he ran into danger to rescue his men.
As he cared for two soldiers, shrapnel from a
rocket-propelled grenade slashed open the back of
Jim's body from head to foot.
Yet that terrible wound didn't stop Jim from
pulling those two men to safety, nor did it stop
him from answering the plea of another wounded
comrade and carrying him to safety atop his own
badly injured body.
He was badly injured.
And so it went, shot after shot, blast upon blast.
As one of his comrades recalled, whoever called
"medic" could immediately count on McCloughan.
He's a brave guy.
As day turned to dusk, nearly all of those who
could and really, really had to make it back --
they were finally within their night defensive
position, except for one soldier whose plea
Jim could not ignore.
Again, "Doc" did not hesitate.
He crawled through a rice paddy thick with steel rain.
That means bullets all over the place.
As soldiers watched him, they were sure that was
the last time they would see "Doc."
They thought that was the end of their friend, Jim.
But after several minutes passed, Jim emerged from
the smoke and fire carrying yet another soldier.
He immediately badgered [bandaged] and fixed and worked,
but he got the wounds fixed and lifted
the soldier to a medevac helicopter.
His lieutenant ordered Jim to get in, too.
"Get in," he said, "get in." But Jim refused.
He said, "You're going to need me here."
As Jim now says, "I would have rather died on the
battlefield than know that men died because they
did not have a medic."
Over the next 24 hours, Jim fired at enemy
soldiers, suffered a bullet wound to his arm,
and continued to race into gunfire to save
more and more lives.
And yet, as night approached again, after
nearly two days of no food, no water, and no
rest, Jim volunteered to hold a blinking light in
an open field to signal for a supply drop.
He would not yield, he would not rest, he would
not stop, and he would not flinch in the face of sure
death and definite danger.
Though he was thousands of miles from home, it was as
if the strength and pride of our whole nation was
beating inside of Jim's heart.
Jim did what his father had taught him -- he gave
it his all and then he just kept giving.
In those 48 hours, Jim rescued 10 American
soldiers and tended to countless others.
He was one of 32 men who fought until the end.
They held their ground against more than
2,000 enemy troops.
Jim, I know I speak for every person here when I
say that we are in awe of your actions
and your bravery.
But let me tell you one thing, and one more
story about Jim.
On the second day of that bloody fight, Jim found a
few soldiers and a fellow soldier who had been shot
badly in the stomach.
He knew the soldier wouldn't make it if he
flung him on the back, so he lifted him up and
carried him in his arms.
As Jim was carrying the soldier, a thought
flashed through his mind.
Although Jim had always been very close to his
father, he realized that it was not since he had
been a young boy that he had told his dad those
three very simple but beautiful words: "I love you."
In that moment, Jim offered up a prayer.
He asked God, "If you get me out of this hell on
Earth so I can tell my dad I love him, I'll be the
best coach and the best father you could ever ask for."
As he prayed, a great peace came over him.
And if it was God's will for him to live, he'd keep
his promise to God as soon as he had the chance.
Jim made it out of that hell on Earth.
He made it; here he is.
And the first thing he did when he arrived back on
American soil was to say those beautiful words:
"I love you, Dad.
I love you."
Jim said those words over and over again for the
next 22 years until the last time he saw his
father, the night before his dad passed on.
Today, I'd venture to say his dad is the proudest
father in heaven.
Jim fought with all of the love and courage in his soul.
He was prepared to lay down his life so his
brothers-in-arms could live theirs.
With us today are 10 of the men who fought
alongside Jim, and five of those he saved.
To Bill, Randy, Mike, Joe, Kent, Robert, John,
Charles, Michael, Orestes -- thank you for your
service and sacrifice.
Stand up wherever you may be.
Where are you?
(Applause.)
Thank you, fellas.
That's great.
For over two centuries, our brave men and women in
uniform have overcome tyranny, fascism,
communism, and every threat to our freedom --
every single threat they've overcome.
And we've overcome these threats because of titans
like Jim whose spirit could never be conquered.
That's what this award is, and Jim's life represents
so well: America's unbreakable spirit.
It's been 48 years since Jim's battle in Vietnam.
He is now a husband, a father, and a grandfather.
He coached high school football, wrestling, and
baseball for 38 years, just like he said he would.
And he brought together every member he could find
of his beloved Charlie Company.
To many people in this room, Specialist Five
McCloughan has always been their friend, "Jim."
To others, he's been "Coach."
To those who bravely served with him in
Vietnam, he's still called their "Doc."
To his parents Scotty and Margaret, both watching
from heaven, he will always be their son.
But today, [to] 320 million grateful American
hearts, Private McCloughan carries one immortal title
-- and that title is "hero."
Specialist Five McCloughan: We honor you.
We salute you.
And with God as your witness, we thank you for
what you did for all of us.
Now I would like the military aide to come
forward and read the citation.
Military Aide: The President of the United
States of America, authorized by Act of
Congress, March 3rd, 1863, has awarded in the name of
Congress the Medal of Honor to Private First
Class James C. McCloughan,
United States Army, for conspicuous
gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life
above and beyond the call of duty.
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 May 13th
through 15th, 1969, while serving as a combat medic
with Charlie Company, 3rd 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, 2nd 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 entire body, refused
evacuation to safety in order to remain at the
battle site with his fellow soldiers who were
heavily outnumbered by the 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
2nd North Vietnamese Army Division and an element of
700 soldiers from a Viet Cong regiment descended
upon Charlie Company's position on three sides.
Private First Class McCloughan, again with
complete disregard for his life, went into the
crossfire numerous times throughout the battle to
extract the wounded soldiers, while also
fighting the enemy.
His relentless and courageous actions
inspired and motivated his comrades to fight for
their survival.
When supplies ran low, Private First Class
McCloughan volunteered to hold a blinking strobe
light in an open area as a marker for a
nighttime resupply drop.
He remained steadfast while bullets landed all
around him and rocket-propelled grenades
flew over his prone, exposed body.
During the morning darkness of May 15th,
Private First Class McCloughan knocked out a
rocket-propelled grenade position with a grenade,
fought and eliminated enemy soldiers, treated
numerous casualties, kept two critically-wounded
soldiers alive through the night, and organized the
dead and wounded for evacuation at daylight.
His timely and courageous actions were instrumental
in saving the lives of his fellow soldiers.
Private First Class McCloughan's personal
heroism, professional competence, and devotion
to duty are in keeping with the highest
traditions of the military service and reflect great
credit upon himself, the Americal Division, and the
United States Army.
(Applause.)
Male Speaker: Bless us now oh Lord as we depart
our separate ways, may the memory of this occasion,
may our participation here unite us in compassion for service to
all the members of our families, our military, our country.
Strengthen us in faith and renew us in spirit and send us forth
with your peace. Amen.
The President: Jim, thank you.
God bless you.
God bless your family.
God bless the United States of America.
Thank you, Jim.
(Applause.)