Two 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers, both on their first combat deployments, have been identified as the soldiers killed by an improvised explosive device in the Kandahar province of Afghanistan on Saturday, a military spokesman said Sunday.
The soldiers were identified as Staff Sgt. Ian Paul McLaughlin of Newport News, Virginia; and Pfc. Miguel Angel Villalon of Joliet, Illinois.
Both soldiers had been assigned to Company B, 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.
“When our nation called for its best Airborne combat engineers to deploy into harm’s way, Staff Sgt. McLaughlin and Pfc. Villalon answered without hesitation. They lived their motto, ‘Essayons,’ and embodied the values of the All American Engineer,” Col. Art Sellers, Commander of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, said in a press release. “Their loved ones are now surrounded by a caring community offering comfort and assistance through this difficult time.”
McLaughlin joined the Army in 2012. After completing basic combat training and advanced individual training, he was assigned to the 68th Engineer Company, 62nd Engineer Battalion at Fort Hood, Texas, as a Horizontal Construction Engineer, according to the 82nd Airborne Division public affairs office.
In 2016, McLaughlin was assigned to the 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, where he served as a horizontal construction engineer and later as a squad leader.
McLaughlin’s awards and decorations include the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star Medal, the Army Commendation Medal with “C” Device, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army Good Conduct Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Combat Action Badge and the Basic Parachutist Badge, according to the 82nd Airborne Division. He was a 2018 graduate of the U.S. Army Advanced Airborne School Jumpmaster Course.
McLaughlin is survived by his wife and four children.
Villalon joined the Army in 2018. After completing basic combat training and advanced individual training in 2019 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, he was assigned to the 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, where he served as a combat engineer.
Villalon’s awards and decorations include the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal with “C” Device, the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal and the Combat Action Badge.
Villalon is survived by his mother of Chicago and father of Brownsville, Texas.
“These paratroopers represent the very best of our nation and our Army,” 82nd Airborne Division Commander Maj. Gen. James Mingus said in a press release. “Three-time volunteers, they went when our nation called and paid the ultimate sacrifice. They will be honored, mourned, but never forgotten, and we are committed to taking care of their families for life.”
___
© 2020 The Fayetteville Observer
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
