Portraits In Courage

On July 13, 2013, while conducting a patrol in Wardak Province, Afghanistan, Tech. Sgt. Patrick
McGillivray and his team leader were ambushed by insurgents.
As an explosive ordnance disposal team member embedded with Special Forces, McGillivray was
trained to react coolly in stressful situations. As the insurgents attacked from two sides with machine
gun fire, he scrambled for cover behind a taxi cab and immediately engaged the enemy.
Within a short time, the volume of enemy fire made the taxi ineffective as cover. While still under fire
he sprinted to a nearby all-terrain vehicle and retrieved an M-240B machine gun and ammunition,
repelling the attack and safeguarding more than 100 locals.
Several weeks later, McGillivray and his team were attacked again while conducting another patrol. A
rocket-propelled grenade slammed into the side of McGillivray’s armored vehicle piercing its hull and
showering the vehicle’s interior with fragmentation. Both the driver and vehicle commander suffered
serious wounds from the explosion. McGillivray, along with his team leader and a medic, quickly
removed the wounded from the vehicle and went to work to stop their bleeding.
In the midst of caring for the wounded, McGillivray’s position came under fire again. McGillivray
continued to render aid and helped carry two wounded soldiers more than 200 yards to a helicopter
landing zone.
Finally, on Aug. 25, 2013, McGillivray and his team were engaged by 25 enemy fighters. The enemy
attackers were fortified in six separate fighting positions, forming a potentially lethal “kill box.” Despite
being outmanned, McGillivray maintained his position and engaged the enemy. The fierce fire fight
lasted six hours. In the end the team was able to repel the attack without a single casualty.
As a result of his courage, heroism and selfless action under fire, McGillivray was nominated for the
Bronze Star and Army Commendation Medal with Valor.