Army Private First Class Buddy W. McLain
August
3, 1986 ~ Nov. 29, 2010
Operation Enduring Freedom
1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team
101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, KY.
24, of Mexico, ME; killed in action when an insurgent attacked his unit
with small-arms fire in Pachir Wa Agam district, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan.
Operation Enduring Freedom
1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team
101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, KY.
24, of Mexico, ME; killed in action when an insurgent attacked his unit
with small-arms fire in Pachir Wa Agam district, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan.
Buddy was born in Portland, Maine, the son of Larry and Patti (Shannon) McLain and lived in Berlin, NH for some time during his childhood, before his family moved to Maine.
Buddy was a graduate of Mountain Valley High School with the class of 2006. When he entered high school, he didn’t like to read, said Bob Fulton, a special education teacher at Mountain Valley. By the time he graduated in 2006, Buddy was a good student who was proud of his reading abilities and liked to read out loud in class, Fulton said. After McLain joined the Army, he would visit the high school in uniform, carry himself with confidence and look people in the eye, Fulton said. “It seemed like all of the sudden the light went on,” Fulton said.
Buddy was a member of the Napoleon Ouellette Post #24, American Legion and Rumford Falls Aerie… # 1248, FOE. He enjoyed fishing, spending time with his dad and spending time at Howard Pond. He enjoyed riding dirt bikes and loved his Ford Mustang. He was an avid Yankees fan and he also loved the Patriots. He enjoyed ice fishing, camping, playing his guitar, and music, especially AC/DC and Pink Floyd.
Buddy married Chelsea in Peru, Maine on March 11, 2009. The most important part of his life was spending time with family and friends. He cherished the time he spent with his Chelsea and his son Owen.
Buddy joined the Army in May of 2009 arriving at Fort Campbell in October of 2009. He served as a Cavalry Scout and was serving his first deployment. Buddy and five others were killed in Afghanistan when an Afghani border policeman turned his gun on his American trainers as the group headed to shooting practice. The gunman was killed in the shootout in Nangarhar province near the Pakistan border. The Taliban claimed responsibility, saying the officer had enlisted as a sleeper agent to have an opportunity to kill foreigners.
His awards and decorations include, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon and NATO Medal.
He is survived by his wife Chelsea and son Owen, parents Larry and Patti McLain, brothers Dustin and Cote McLain and Greg Gibbons and his extended family.
Buddy was a graduate of Mountain Valley High School with the class of 2006. When he entered high school, he didn’t like to read, said Bob Fulton, a special education teacher at Mountain Valley. By the time he graduated in 2006, Buddy was a good student who was proud of his reading abilities and liked to read out loud in class, Fulton said. After McLain joined the Army, he would visit the high school in uniform, carry himself with confidence and look people in the eye, Fulton said. “It seemed like all of the sudden the light went on,” Fulton said.
Buddy was a member of the Napoleon Ouellette Post #24, American Legion and Rumford Falls Aerie… # 1248, FOE. He enjoyed fishing, spending time with his dad and spending time at Howard Pond. He enjoyed riding dirt bikes and loved his Ford Mustang. He was an avid Yankees fan and he also loved the Patriots. He enjoyed ice fishing, camping, playing his guitar, and music, especially AC/DC and Pink Floyd.
Buddy married Chelsea in Peru, Maine on March 11, 2009. The most important part of his life was spending time with family and friends. He cherished the time he spent with his Chelsea and his son Owen.
Buddy joined the Army in May of 2009 arriving at Fort Campbell in October of 2009. He served as a Cavalry Scout and was serving his first deployment. Buddy and five others were killed in Afghanistan when an Afghani border policeman turned his gun on his American trainers as the group headed to shooting practice. The gunman was killed in the shootout in Nangarhar province near the Pakistan border. The Taliban claimed responsibility, saying the officer had enlisted as a sleeper agent to have an opportunity to kill foreigners.
His awards and decorations include, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon and NATO Medal.
He is survived by his wife Chelsea and son Owen, parents Larry and Patti McLain, brothers Dustin and Cote McLain and Greg Gibbons and his extended family.
