The Wall › Panel 59W › North Carolina › Phill Gene McDonald
PHILL GENE MCDONALD
Private First Class · U.S. Army
September 23, 1941 – June 7, 1968
Medal of Honor StoryPortrait: The original uploader was Kumioko at English Wikipedia., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Phill Gene McDonald, of Greensboro, North Carolina, served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He died on June 7, 1968, in Kontum Province, South Vietnam, at age 26. His name is inscribed on Panel 59W, Line 26 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Medal of Honor · awarded posthumously
For conspicuous gallantry
Phill Gene McDonald received the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for valor, for his actions on June 7, 1968. The official citation reads:
Private First Class McDonald's official Medal of Honor citation reads:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Pfc. McDonald distinguished himself while serving as a team leader with the 1st platoon of Company A. While on a combat mission his platoon came under heavy barrage of automatic weapons fire from a well concealed company-size enemy force. Volunteering to escort two wounded comrades to an evacuation point, Pfc. McDonald crawled through intense fire to destroy with a grenade an enemy automatic weapon threatening the safety of the evacuation. Returning to his platoon, he again volunteered to provide covering fire for the maneuver of the platoon from its exposed position. Realizing the threat he posed, enemy gunners concentrated their fire on Pfc. McDonald's position, seriously wounding him. Despite his painful wounds, Pfc. McDonald recovered the weapon of a wounded machine gunner to provide accurate covering fire for the gunner's evacuation. When other soldiers were pinned down by a heavy volume of fire from a hostile machine gun to his front, Pfc. McDonald crawled toward the enemy position to destroy it with grenades. He was mortally wounded in this intrepid action. Pfc. McDonald's gallantry at the risk of his life which resulted in the saving of the lives of his comrades, is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
^ "Phill Gene McDonald, Medal of Honor Recipient". Congressional Medal of Honor Society. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
Citation text as reproduced in Wikipedia’s article on Phill Gene McDonald; Medal of Honor citations are official U.S. government records. See also the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and all Medal of Honor recipients on the Wall.
On the Wall
Panel 59W · Line 26
Names are inscribed in the order of loss, starting at Panel 1E at the apex and ending at Panel 1W. At the Memorial, find the panel number at the base and count down from the top line.
Remember
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Service
- Branch
- U.S. Army
- Rank
- Private First Class (PFC)
- Service
- Drafted (Selective Service)
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 4 INF DIV
- Born
- September 23, 1941
- Home of record
- Greensboro, North Carolina (Guilford County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- June 7, 1968
- Age
- 26
- Province
- Kontum
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Small Arms Fire
Context · from the records
What was happening
59 names on the Wall carry the date June 7, 1968; three of them were lost in Kon Tum Province. In June 1968, 1,257 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 4th Infantry Division, his unit in the record, lost 49 of its members that month.
Read the history
Also on Panel 59W, Line 26
- DONALD HARRY HARTNESSLance Corporal · June 7, 1968
- PAUL MARTIN MCGRATHSecond Lieutenant · June 7, 1968
- DAVID ALLEN PADDOCKFirst Lieutenant · June 7, 1968
- JOHNNY LEE PROCTORPrivate First Class · June 7, 1968
Same unit, same day
- FRANK EDWARD BELCHERSpecialist Four · Panel 59W, Line 19
- WILLIAM EDWARD SAPPSpecialist Four · Panel 59W, Line 27
From Greensboro
- GLENN CHARLES DYERFirst Lieutenant · October 26, 1964
- THOMAS MONROE CROWPrivate First Class · August 24, 1965
- ALVIN C SLIGHPrivate First Class · November 6, 1965
- GENTRY GRAHAMSpecialist Four · February 24, 1966
- JAMES HAMPTON EDGESpecialist Four · March 5, 1966
- ROGER WARDELL JENKINSPrivate First Class · April 30, 1966
- RONALD CRAIG LOVETTPrivate First Class · June 12, 1966
- JAMES SHREVE HALLChief Master Sergeant · July 29, 1966
- CHESTER DECATUR FEWELLPrivate First Class · January 9, 1967
- BILLY WAYNE FLYNNSecond Lieutenant · January 23, 1967
Source. U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Casualty Analysis System, Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File (as of April 29, 2008), Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Record Group 330, National Archives (NAID 2240992). Panel and line as recorded in that file. The Medal of Honor citation above is the official account of his actions. See something wrong? Report a correction.