Written by: Marshall McGurk
TLCB In Memoriam, MAJ (ret). Floyd Francis McGurk, Thailand ’64, RVN: 66-67, 69-70.
My father didn’t talk about his experiences in Southeast Asia while my brother and I were growing up. By the time we returned from our own deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, my Dad had found the Thai-Laos-Cambodia Brotherhood, and gained more confidence to talk about his tours of duty. The connection with comrades and friends undoubtedly extended his life by many years. He spoke joyfully of the reunions, sent hundreds of emails documenting history, and implored his sons to learn more from the Vietnam-era veterans. Unfortunately, the effects of Agent Orange, strokes, and diabetes took its toll on my father, and he died the evening of April 30, 2021. He was 83.
The son of a western Pennsylvania coal miner and a university cook, my Dad, Floyd Francis McGurk, who took on the moniker “Old Floyd” by the time he reached 70, commissioned as a Distinguished Military Graduate with an Active Duty commission into the Army Corps of Engineers in 1961 from Colorado School of Mines. He took his young family to Fort Lewis, WA, where he participated in maneuvers in Alaska, Yakima, and other training sites in the West. Stateside garrison military life would soon be overtaken by overseas field service. Of his 15.5 years on active duty, 9.5 of those years were overseas.
As the Vietnam War ramped up, then 1LT McGurk was deployed to Thailand in 1964, building out Air Forces bases at Nakhon Phanom, and Korat Thailand. Floyd grew fond of Thailand and the Thai people while making many friends, including now-deceased TLCB member Mac Thompson. After returning to Fort Lewis and now a Captain, he went to Fort Bragg, NC for advisory training. He arrived in Vietnam as an Infantry Advisor to the South Vietnamese Regional Force / Popular Force in the Mekong River Delta, Truc Giang, Vietnam. He returned to the U.S. with a Combat Infantryman’s Badge, and a Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Bronze Star for directing U.S. aircraft against VietCong positions during an attack. (I never knew about this until I had the award translated after his death. He never spoke of it.)
After a quick sojourn at USMC Amphibious Warfare School, and Arizona State University for a graduate degree, now MAJ McGurk returned to Vietnam from 1969-1970 as an Engineer at Tan Son Nhut Air Base near Siagon. It turned out to be an eventful tour of duty, as he suffered a heart attack, was evac’d to Camp Zama, Japan, quit smoking, and then saved men out of a burning ammunition building before it exploded. For the latter action he was decorated with the Soldier’s Medal. Of all his decorations, he was most proud of the Soldier’s Medal and the CIB. He left the Army in 1976, but returned to federal service with the Corps of Engineers at West Point, NY in 2003, retiring in 2007.
Floyd McGurk traveled the world on construction sites with the Army or various companies: Thailand, Vietnam, Yap island, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Barbados, to name a few. He made friends everywhere he went. Furthermore, he encouraged young people to consider military service while chastising older generations not to waste young lives needlessly. As he stated during a Veteran’s Day interview with Medal of Honor recipient Jack Jacobs: “They are all our sons and daughters.”
He leaves behind a legacy of caring for young people, being passionate for justice, loyal service, and a hatred of war that made him an exceptional warrior. A Zoom virtual memorial is being held on June 19, while an in-person memorial is scheduled for Saturday, 21 August in Pittsburgh, PA, with internment the following day. More details will be published through TLCB leadership for those wishing to attend. Memorial donations can be sent to the TLCB or Guiding Eyes for the Blind.
