- SURNAME
McMullin
- FORENAME
Kenneth E.
- UNIT
6 SF Group (HQ and HQ Company)
- RANK
Staff Sergeant
- NUMBER
- AWARD
Silver Star
- PLACE
North Vietnam 1970 (Son Tay)
- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (Courtesy of the 50th Public Affairs Detachment, Feb. 3, 2012) Hundreds of Green Berets volunteered for the mission. But after months of preparation on November 20, 1970, only 56 of them used the cover of darkness to infiltrate the North Vietnamese prison camp of Son Tay in an attempt to rescue 70 American prisoners of war more than 100 miles behind enemy lines. The raid was a tactical success, neutralizing hundreds of North Vietnamese soldiers with only two minor injuries received by American forces.
One of these men, the late, retired Sgt. Maj. Kenneth E. McMullin was memorialized by hundreds of fellow Green Berets, friends and family members in a ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Chapel on Fort Bragg, Jan. 31 to honor not only his role as one of the elite Son Tay Raiders, but for his 32 years of military service.
"I am truly humbled to have served with him" said Brig. Gen. Edward Reeder, U.S. Army Special Forces Command commanding general. "He embodied the spirit of Special Forces across decades of service."
In addition to Son Tay, McMullin served with 8th Special Forces Group in Panama, 5th SFG in Vietnam, where he trained and led foreign personnel in airborne infantry combat operations including the combat parachute jump into BuPrang in South Vietnam and 46th Special Forces Company in the Kingdom of Thailand.
In 1974 he volunteered to serve as the operations sergeant major with 82nd Airborne Division on Fort Bragg. McMullin also became a member of the Saudi Arabia foreign internal defense mobile training team, spent four years with Operation Blue Light, the Army's first counter-terrorism unit, and became the operations and training sergeant major at the Joint Special Operations Command.
He then participated in the planning and execution of Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada, before returning to Panama for five years. He returned to the United States in early 1990 as a company sergeant major for 1st Battalion, 7th SFG and then command sergeant major of the activating 3rd Battalion, 3rd SFG where he served as the rear command sergeant major during Operation Desert Storm. McMullin served as acting command sergeant major for 3rd Battalion, 3rd SFG until his retirement in late 1992.
"You can't ask for a better soldier" said retired Sgt. Maj. Joe Lupyak, a life-long friend of McMullin's and fellow Raider. "He was a soldier's soldier. He was respected and admired. There are countless non-commissioned officers and officers that came up on (McMullin's) knee."
One of these officers is Maj. Gen. Charles Cleveland, incoming commander of U.S. Army Special Operations Command. Speaking during the ceremony, Cleveland recalled his time first as a detachment commander and later as a company commander with McMullin as his company sergeant major.
"With respect to the other sergeants major in the room, I realize how honored I was to have him as my first sergeant major. He was the smartest man I've ever had the pleasure of serving with."
"As everyone knows, my dad loved to read and never stopped learning his craft" said his son, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Steven McMullin, assistant operations officer for 2nd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group. "He filled his shelves with military history. But I know his prized books were about his friends, many of you here today? All of his books signed, all marked with favorite pages and passages. The names once redacted are penciled back in, to celebrate his friend's achievements."
As the ceremony came to an close, an endless line of those friends and comrades filed by the picture of McMullin at the front of the chapel, each Soldier stopping one last time to salute and say their goodbyes.
"They don't make them like Kenny anymore" said Lupyak. "He was a very likable individual, didn't speak badly about anyone. He was a quiet presence. He had a good sense of humor and did his business. And he was respected because of his abilities."
McMullin passed away on Christmas Day 2011 and was cremated in a ceremony held by his family in Hermosa Beach, Calif. His family plans on spreading his ashes in the Pacific Ocean this summer.
His awards and decorations include the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star with ?V? device and two oak leaf clusters, Purple Heart, Master Parachutist Badge, SCUBA Badge and HALO Jumpmaster Badge.
"We who had the privilege of serving with him know that he had plenty of medals pinned onto his jacket, but there were plenty more pinned to his soul on Christmas Day" said Cleveland.
Obituary in Fayetteville Observer 27.12.2011
FAYETTEVILLE - Retired Army Sgt. Maj. Kenneth E. McMullin, of Fayetteville, died Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011. He served in the Army for 30 years, including 27 years in Special Forces. His service included multiple tours in Panama, Vietnam and Thailand. He made the combat parachute jump into BuPrang, in South Vietnam, and was a member of the assault team into the Son Tay POW Camp. His awards include the Silver Star, Bronze Star with "V" device, and the Purple Heart. He was born in Inglewood, Calif., May 22, 1940, to Everett K and Patricia G. McMullin. Left behind are his son, Special Forces Chief Warrant Officer 3 Steven D. McMullin and wife Kristin; his daughter, Patricia T. Marcello; two granddaughters, Laurel and Scout; and his sisters, Patsy Brierley, Cathy Clement and Dina Ferguson, all of the Los Angeles area. A memorial service will be held at the JFK Chapel on Fort Bragg and at Saint Cross by the Sea Episcopal Church in Hermosa Beach, Calif. Burial will be in the Pacific Ocean. Services to be announced at a later date. "Also, I heard the voice of the Lord, saying whom shall I send and who will go for us? Then said I, here am I, send me." Isaiah 6:8. Pinecrest Funeral & Cremation Services of Hope Mills.
Kenny McMullin was born in 1940 in California. He enlisted in the California Army National Guard on February 21, 1960, and went on active duty in the U.S. Army as a Combat Engineer on December 31, 1962, serving until December 14, 1965. SP5 McMullin served in the U.S. Army Reserve from December 15, 1965, until returning to active duty on January 31, 1966. His next assignment was as a Demolition Specialist with Company E, 7th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, from April to December 1966, followed by service as a Demolition Sergeant with Company B, 5th Special Forces Group in South Vietnam from December 1966 to October 1967. Sgt McMullin served as an Operations Sergeant with the 5th Special Forces Group in South Vietnam from October 1967 to September 1969, and then as an Intelligence Sergeant with the 46th Special Forces Company in Thailand from September 1968 to October 1969. His next assignment was as an Operations and Intelligence Sergeant with the 6th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg from October 1969 to January 1970, followed by service with Company C, U.S. Army Special Forces Training Group at Fort Bragg from January 1970 to March 1971. During this time, SSG McMullin served on Action Element #2 with the Blueboy Assault Group during the Son Tay Raid, a clandestine mission to rescue American Prisoners of War in North Vietnam on November 21, 1970. He served as a Reconnaissance Team Leader and Airborne Controller with the U.S. Army Vietnam Training Advisory Group in South Vietnam from March 1971 to February 1972, and then served as an Intelligence NCO and Training NCO with the 46th Special Forces Company and the U.S. Army Special Forces Training Group in Thailand from February 1972 to March 1973. His next assignment was as the Senior Special Forces Instructor with the Special Forces Detachment at the U.S. Army Institute for Military Assistance at Fort Bragg from April 1973 to March 1975, followed by service as Operations Sergeant and then Assistant Chief Operations NCO with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg from March 1975 to November 1976. MSG McMullin served as an Operations Sergeant with Company A, 3rd Battalion of the 5th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg from December 1976 to August 1982, and then as Operations and Training NCO with Headquarters Joint Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg from August 1982 to September 1984. His next assignment was as Detachment Sergeant Major and then Company Sergeant Major with Company A, 3rd Battalion of the 7th Special Forces Group at Fort Davis, Panama, from September 1984 to December 1989, followed by service as Company Sergeant Major with Company B, 1st Battalion of the 7th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg from January 1990 to January 1991. His final assignment was as Battalion Command Sergeant Major with 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg from January 1991 until his retirement from the Army on November 1, 1992. Kenny McMullin died on December 25, 2011.
CITATION:
Silver Star : The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 8, 1918 (amended by act of July 25, 1963), takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Staff Sergeant Kenneth E. McMullin, United States Army, for gallantry in action on 21 November 1970 as a member of an all-volunteer joint U.S. Army and Air Force raiding force in the Joint Chiefs of Staff-directed heliborne assault mission to rescue United States military personnel held as prisoners of war at Son Tay prison in North Vietnam. This valiant effort was motivated by deep compassion for his imprisoned fellow men-at-arms, and by a strong sense of military duty and national pride. After debarking from the assault helicopter, Sergeant McMullin moved to an exposed position and delivered automatic rifle fire on a fortified enemy position, eliminating an immediate threat that could hinder the search and rescue operation. He then fearlessly moved to the north corner of the prisoner interrogation building the better to protect the search team of his element. He cleared the area of the remaining enemy personnel permitting the safe completion of the search of all buildings and the withdrawal of the raiding force to the extraction point. Sergeant McMullin's conscious disregard for his personal safety, extraordinary heroism against an armed hostile force, and extreme devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on himself and the United States Army.
WEB LINKS:
https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/24547
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