The Free Press, Mankato, MN

Local News

July 3, 2009

Veteran tells of hero's death

Talks at Military Honors Day

By Mark Fischenich

MANKATO — Tom McLaughlin was in Vietnam for the Fourth of July in 1967, and he had a story that ended on that day — a story he wanted to tell to the small group of Mankato-area residents who showed up Friday at Military Honors Day.

McLaughlin, a sergeant leading some fellow Marines on three-day sweep to find the North Vietnamese enemy, received a radio call just after the sun went down on the night of July 3. The mountain-top observation post they’d left was under assault, and McLaughlin and his men began the long march back to the mountain to provide relief.

The fire-fight on the mountain in the Elephant Valley could be seen from far away as they marched.

“It looked like the Fourth of July as you were marching to the mountain in the distance,” McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin was involved in retaking the mountain the next day, but that wasn’t the story he told to the people gathered at the ceremony outside of Buster’s bar. Instead, he told the story of one of the Marines trying to defend the mountain on the night of July 3.

He told about Pfc. Melvin Newlin of Wellsville, Ohio, who was manning a key post when the Viet Cong mortar and infantry assault began.

Newlin’s four comrades were killed and he was wounded, but he propped himself against his machine gun and sent a stream of fire at the charging Viet Cong. Hit repeatedly by small-arms fire, he single-handedly repelled two assaults. On the third, he was wounded and knocked unconscious by a grenade.

The Viet Cong, believing him dead, went by and continued their assault up the mountain. When Newlin regained consciousness, he crawled back to his weapon and began firing at the enemy from behind. Spotting some enemy soldiers preparing to fire a captured piece of light artillery at Marine positions, he turned his machine gun on them and inflicted heavy casualties while preventing them from using the captured weapon.

Newlin then returned to firing on the main enemy force, causing their assault to stall as they returned their entire focus to him. He fended off two more assaults before he suffered his final wounds, dying on what was — by then — the Fourth of July.

McLaughlin heard about Newlin’s courage and skill the next day from the surviving Marines, but he didn’t use their words on Friday. Instead, he used the citation written for the Medal of Honor Newlin was awarded posthumously.

Still, Newlin’s was just one of the stories that could have been told.

“There should have been six Medals of Honor that night instead of one,” McLaughlin said. “... Seventeen Marines died that night, and two Army.”

McLaughlin, a Mankato resident active in numerous veterans organizations and the father of a decorated Marine who served in Iraq, noted American soldiers are still dying for their country, that a Marine fell this week during an operation in Afghanistan.

“He’s not on the news,” McLaughlin told the audience. “Michael Jackson’s on the news.”

So McLaughlin wanted to help the organizers of Military Honors Day with their goal of giving people something to think about during this year’s Independence Day. He suggested Melvin Newlin, or other soldiers who have died.

Or they can think about the veteran at the fireworks display tonight. There’s a reason they sometimes flinch when the shells burst, McLaughlin said, or why they might have a tear in their eye.

“Memories from a long time ago continue for many who served in the military,” he said. “The explosions, the colors, all the noise, the concussions are almost identical.”

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