Patriots Day Parade honoree: Modest Navy Cross winner doesn’t consider his actions special

Amid explosions from enemy artillery, Carlos McAfee arranged for medical helicopters to airlift wounded soldiers to safety. In was a June day 50 years ago in Vietnam. The war was raging.

McAfee saw two advisors die while in battle, but he did what he could to prevent more casualties.

The U.S. Navy honored the 82-year-old retired Marine lieutenant colonel with its second-highest honor for gallantry in combat, the Navy Cross. Organizers of the annual Laguna Beach Patriots Day Parade will thank McAfee for his service Saturday when the 50th parade rolls through Laguna Beach’s streets.

McAfee can take or leave the accolades, he said Monday at his home near Alta Laguna Park. He did what he had to do.

“I’m delighted the city does it [host the Patriots Day Parade], and it’s certainly nice to be a part of it,” said McAfee, who grew up in Oklahoma City, Okla. “It’s not a parade about Carlos McAfee.”

The parade recognizes sacrifices of people who fought for the U.S. in times of war and celebrates America’s freedom. Various community organizations and school bands participate in the procession, and residents have been known to line the streets decked in red, white and blue garb.

McAfee spent 20 years in the Marine Corps, focusing on artillery and military intelligence. He learned to speak Vietnamese before deployment in 1965 to the country, where he and other Marines joined the South Vietnamese resistance to northern forces.

Testing came quickly for McAfee, a captain with the 5th Marine Battalion. On June 12, 1966, his unit came under enemy fire in areas of rice paddies.

The battalion commander died in the incident while McAfee “stationed himself under the direct fire of the enemy in order to direct and adjust air strikes and artillery fire,” according to a biography on the Patriots Day Parade website. “Despite continued enemy fire of automatic weapons, machine guns, mortars and grenades, McAfee directed the medical evacuation helicopters into his area to receive the wounded.... After three hours of intense fighting, reinforcements arrived and were led by McAfee on a counterattack.

“Through his valiant efforts, he prevented the possible annihilation of a Marine battalion by a numerically superior enemy force, and his courageous direction of the medical evacuation undoubtedly saved many lives.”

McAfee admitted he doesn’t talk much about that day or consider his actions special.

“I didn’t do anything that a well-trained professional couldn’t do,” he said. “When you think about the heroic, mind-blowing things people have done that go unrecognized.”

McAfee returned to the U.S. and studied operations research at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey. In July 1970, he returned to Vietnam as a major, leading a reinforced artillery battalion that spread across six bases south of Da Nang. He led combat units until their withdrawal the following spring.

After retiring from the military in 1975, McAfee joined Hughes Aircraft Co., working on military operations and command systems. NATO officials tapped McAfee for his expertise in this area, and he lived for a time in Europe and Israel, where he met his wife, Waltraud. The two married 37 years ago.

Back in the States and not wanting to be idle during retirement, the McAfees decided to explore their acting abilities and ended up playing extras in 100 movies, including “The Green Mile,” starring Tom Hanks.

Carlos particularly liked working with the cast — including George C. Scott and Jack Lemmon — of the 1999 remake of “Inherit the Wind,” a fictionalized account of the Scopes Monkey Trial. Carlos played a courtroom attendee as lawyers argued for and against a Tennessee school teacher who taught evolution during the 1920s.

“It was a kick,” Carlos said.

In 1997, the couple moved from Laguna Niguel to Laguna Beach, where Carlos has volunteered with the Laguna Beach Police Department’s Citizens Academy.

“He’s absolutely faithful to his country, wants the best for his country,” Waltraud said. “He teaches me a lot of history. I love him dearly.”

Saturday’s parade begins at 11 a.m. on Park Avenue in front of Laguna Beach High School.