Soldier and Scholar: A Vietnam veteran reflects

When Patrick McLaughlin enrolled at Ohio University in 1969, he had just completed nearly two years of combat duty in Vietnam.

McLaughlin came to Athens in the spring of 1970, a time when Ohio University students were protesting the Vietnam War and the presence of ROTC programs on campus. After Ohio National Guardsmen shot and killed four Kent State University students during a war protest on May 4, 1970, the violence increased at Ohio University and eventually led to the closing of the university and the cancellation of the spring commencement ceremony.

McLaughlin persevered, earning a bachelors degree in specialized studies, and later, a law degree from Case Western Reserve University in 1976. He was later appointed by the president of the United States as the U.S. attorney general of the Northern District of Ohio in 1985.

McLaughlin, who now owns a law firm in Cleveland, returned to campus this summer to participate in the Cantigny First Division Oral History Project. While here, he shared his memories of life on campus in 1970s.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Ohio University
• Athens
• bobcats
• Vietnam Veteran
• Patrick McLaughlin
• ROTC
• Kent State Shootings
• 1970 riot
• tear gas
• oral history project

[voiceforveterans]

Being in the service runs in your blood. We hope that the next generation will be inspired with all the achievements and successes you have.