James B. Vaught

Lenahan, Rod (1998). Crippled Eagle: A Historical Perspective Of U.S. Special Operations 1976–1996. Narwhal Press. ISBN 1-886391-22-X.

He resided in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina after his retirement in 1985.

Perhaps his most notable role was during Operation Eagle Claw, the infamous failed rescue mission of hostages in Iran, where General Vaught served as the overall commander of the operation in 1980. Eight service members died and four were injured in the operation when one of the helicopters on the mission collided with a transport aircraft in the remote Iranian desert.

In 1967 during the Vietnam War, he was sent to South Vietnam, where as the battalion commander of the 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry, he played a key role in the Battle of Hue during the Tet Offensive of 1968. He also participated in Operation Pegasus the relief of Khe Sanh Combat Base. Vaught was later injured in an auto accident which resulted in him being evacuated, in a full body cast, to Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Although the Vietnamization policy was thought of as a failed concept, Vaught was a proponent of the policy and was a valuable asset to it throughout his second tour of Vietnam.

Vaught grew up in Conway, South Carolina. A multi-generational native of the state, he has been identified as a direct descendant of Francis "Swamp Fox" Marion. However, this is in dispute, as there are no known direct descendants of Marion. He graduated from high school in 1943 and then was enrolled at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. During this time, with World War II being fought by Allied forces in two theaters, the draft was altered so that college students were eligible. In 1944, Vaught was one of those drafted by the United States Army, though he was able to graduate and become a member of the Citadel's class of 1946. In the Army, he was commissioned an officer in 1945. After the war, he served three and a half years in West Germany.

James Benjamin Vaught (November 3, 1926 – September 20, 2013) was a United States Army Lieutenant General who fought in the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. In South Korea he served as a company commander in the 24th Infantry Division and in 1967, in South Vietnam, on his first tour he served as the commanding officer of the 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry. He has also played a major role in numerous United States Special Forces operations. He was the overall commander of Operation Eagle Claw, the failed rescue mission of U.S. hostages in Iran in 1980.