One of twelve children of a 27th District patrolman in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Aloysius McGonigal knew even before beginning education at a Catholic elementary school that he wanted to become a priest. He attended Saint Joe’s Preparatory School, running track and swimming on the competitive teams, and graduated in 1936. He then entered the Saint Isaac Jogues Jesuit Novitiate at Wernersville, Pennsylvania, along with one of his brothers. He left school in World War II and enlisted in the Coast Guard. He was ordained a Catholic Priest in 1953 at Woodstock College near Baltimore, and in 1961 joined the U.S. Army as a chaplain, serving in Korea, returning home in 1963 after the death of his brother. In 1966 he was working on a doctorate in physics from Georgetown when he was slated for a mission to India. Instead, he joined the Army, and was deployed in 1966 to Vietnam, where he served two tours and was killed in action. Despite being an Army chaplain, his service to Marines was honored by the Marine Corps naming a chapel in his honor at Camp Pendleton.
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Awards Received
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Silver Star
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Silver Star
Service:
United States ArmyRank:
Major (Chaplain’s Corps)Division:
Military Assistance Command, VietnamAction Date:
February 15 – 17, 1968
(Citation Needed) – SYNOPSIS: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Major (Chaplain’s Corps) Aloysius Paul McGonigal (ASN: 0-4070348), United States Army, for gallantry in action involving close combat against an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam. Chaplain McGonigal distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions from 15 to 17 February 1968, while serving as Chaplain with Advisory Team 1, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, on a combat mission in the Republic of Vietnam. During the battle for Hue City, Chaplain McGonigal learned that the Marines of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, were without a chaplain, and would be tasked with crossing the river under heavy fire to storm the walls of the enemy-controlled Citadel. After obtaining permission to join these Marines, he went into battle with them for three days of intense urban warfare, consoling the wounded and administering Last Rites to the dying. Chaplain McGonigal’s extraordinary heroism in close combat against an enemy force is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Army.