Foreword

My grandfather Clinton S. McLaughlin, a graduate of Norwalk St. Paul High School (Ohio) was inducted into the St. Paul Alumni Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Citizen on February 11, 2012. My father Thomas, the third of Clint and his wife Elizabeth’s four children, gave the acceptance speech for his father during the induction ceremony. I recorded my father’s speech which is transcribed in the pages that follow.

I never met my grandfather as he died fifteen years before I would be born. Yet I don’t think I could be more proud to be a part of his life—to be able to call him Grandfather. I know I speak for my siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles and numerous others when I say that he is a true hero. He is our true hero. It is important that my grandfather’s story—my grandfather himself—never be forgotten and his valor never be in vain. I look forward very much to meeting my grandfather someday. I look forward to when I can tell him I love him and am proud of him. We’re all proud of him. Not just for the heroic exploits that are described in this book but for being a man of God and a man of integrity. I hope you find his story as incredible as it is true. It’s one you'll never regret knowing.

John Patrick McLaughlin