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
comrades recalled, whoever called medic could immediately count on mccloughan. he s a brave guy. as dusk came upon them, they had to make it back, they were finally within their night defensive position except for one soldier whose plea jim could not ignore. aga again, doc did not hesitate. he crawled through a rice patty thick with steel rain. that means bullets, all over the place. as soldiered watched him. they were sure that was the last time they would see doc. they thought that was the end of their friend, jim. after several minutes passed, jim emerged from the smoke and fire carrying yet another soldier. he immediately badgered and
blast upon blast, as one of his cam rads recalled, whoever called medic could immediately count on mcclun. 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 in night defensive position, except for one soldier whose plea jim could not ignore. again, doc did not hesitate. he crawled through a rice patti 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
mnuchin, secretary mattis, and members of the armed forces. thank you for joining us as we award our nation s highest military honor to specialist 5 james c. mclewin. 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 sharee, 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
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 carried the soldier, a thought flashed through his mind. it wasn t since he was a young boy that he 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