Kugler, McGinty Here

Stories that shouldn't die with me.

Some years ago, while traveling, I was watching the History Channel in my hotel. They had a series on Medal of Honor winners, and there was one of my Drill Instructors from years ago. He was Sergeant McGinty to me in Parris Island, and I ran into him once in Vietnam, where he was a Staff Sergeant.

When I returned home, I decided to send him my book, Dead Center: A Marine Sniper's Two-Year Odyssey in the Vietnam War. Since I was what they call a shitbird in boot camp, I thought it would be nice to give him some feedback on how his leadership then helped change my life for the better. I didn't expect him to remember me, but he might appreciate the thought since I mentioned him in the book.

I called the Medal of Honor Society and asked how I might get in touch with McGinty. They informed me that if I forwarded my book to them, they would see that he had received it, but they could not pass on his contact information. I mailed it off and forgot all about it. That is, until a Friday morning four months later, when I answered the phone to … "Kugler, McGinty here."

I was shocked and responded with, "For real?" And the same voice I remember from Parris Island said, "For fucking real!" At this point, I have to explain. In the battle for which he would eventually be awarded the Medal of Honor, I was with a Marine Force Recon team on a mountain overlooking the jungle valley where he was fighting. We were there to call in artillery and aid in directing airstrikes. It happened on July 18, 1966.

It was known as Operation Hastings and was the first time US Marines and the NVA, or North Vietnamese Army, faced off with one another. The fighting lasted for three days and nights, and the Marines were severely outnumbered. When they were being inserted into the jungle clearing at the opening of the Operation, four helicopters carrying them hit blades on the way in and crash-landed. That blocked the landing zone for the remainder of the battalion. Things went from bad to worse.

That said, when the Operation ended, and McGinty and the battalion were brought back to base, I looked up from my tent and saw him walk by, having just landed. In my book, I described him as 'ashen-faced' because he looked awful, pale, and bedraggled. To my phone call, after his 'for fucking real' comment, he immediately said, "What the hell is this ashen-faced bullshit?" I couldn't help but laugh. I told him when he walked off the chopper that night, after three days of slinging lead, he looked bad.

The battle was between the NVA's 324B Division. It resulted in 126 Marines killed and 448 wounded. It was ugly in action. McGinty and I talked for over an hour. He filled in the details of why it was so ugly. Multiple landing zones successfully landed a large number of Marines. McGinty's wave of our four choppers went into a smaller LZ, where the choppers' blades hit, and all four crashed to the ground.

McGinty's company, along with another company from their battalion, was cut off from the major Marine force. The North Vietnamese took advantage of the situation and threw their whole force against McGinty's company. They fought for their lives for three days. Below is the sanitized version contained in his award citation.

"For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as Acting Platoon Leader, First Platoon, Company K, Third Battalion, Fourth Marines, Third Marine Division, in the Republic of Vietnam on July 18, 1966. Second Lieutenant (then Staff Sergeant) McGinty's platoon, which was providing rear security to protect the withdrawal of the battalion from a position in Quang Tri Province, was attacked by a North Vietnamese Army regiment.

"The enemy force, estimated to be of regimental strength, delivered intense automatic weapons and small arms fire, supported by mortars, against the small platoon of 32 Marines. Second Lieutenant McGinty, with complete disregard for his own personal safety, exposed himself to the heavy enemy fire to rally his men and direct their fire against the assaulting force. When a group of his men became separated, he charged across an open area under intense enemy fire to their position, reorganized them, and led them to comparative safety. Despite being wounded in the action, he continued to move among his men, shouting encouragement, directing their fire, and reloading their weapons.

When the enemy attempted to outflank his position, he single-handedly killed five of the enemy at point-blank range with his pistol. Later, when the enemy fire increased, he calmly directed artillery and air strikes to within 50 yards of his own position, routing the enemy and causing them an estimated 500 casualties. Second Lieutenant McGinty's extraordinary heroism, indomitable leadership, and aggressive fighting spirit in the face of overwhelming odds inspired his Marines to resist and overcome the enemy, thereby saving many of his fellow Marines from death or serious injury.

His actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service."

McGinty was much more descriptive and colorful than his citation. He was wounded twice, as he put it, "I'm not proud of gettin' shot in the ass, but I was crawling with ammo for my troops." He was also wounded in the eye, which he lost to surgery a year after returning from Vietnam. I was amazed and honored to talk with him about it all. Then he told me what caused the whole disaster. He explained that Force Recon had been in the area three months before the Operation. Their job was to scope out, size, and select the landing zones.

The landing zones were set for the choppers the Marines were using at the time, specifically the old UH-34 single-blade, gasoline-powered model. During the three months preceding Hastings, the Marines in the DMZ switched to the newer CH-46 Sea Knight, featuring twin blades and two turboshaft engines, and had a much larger footprint than the one planned for the selected landing zone—a sad error.

We ended our entertaining conversation with him, sharing something I will never forget. He said, "Kugler, always remember when you see a Medal of Honor awarded, it's because somebody higher up fucked up and put people where to survive they did extraordinary things." Talking to him was like talking to my DI years ago. He was a great guy.

Fast forward a few years, and I was privileged to meet and get to know Dakota Meyer, the only Marine Sniper to win the Medal of Honor. Then, Corporal Meyer was awarded his Medal for actions in the Battle of Ganjgal on September 8, 2009, in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. We've visited a few times over the years and shared with him McGinty's adage' people higher up fucking up and putting you there'; his experience is exactly the same.

Over the last ten years of my corporate career, I spent time as a consultant, leading large operational turnarounds on my own. In those ten years, my partner and I completed ten turnarounds, and every single project was not a people problem but a leadership problem. The consequences of stupid and careless decisions are not comparable. In battle, they kill people. In corporate America, they just kill careers.

The lessons we learn.