Sergeant First Class Matthew Q. McClintock was born on October 10, 1985, and was a native of Albuquerque, New Mexico. He later made his home in Washington State, where he and his wife, Alexandra, built their family.
Matt volunteered for military service and entered the Army in September 2006 as an infantryman. After Infantry One Station Unit Training and Airborne School, he served with Company A, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division and deployed to Iraq. He then set out to become a Green Beret. He completed the Special Forces Qualification Course as a Special Forces engineer sergeant and served on Operational Detachment Alpha 1411, Company A, 4th Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne). His training also included SERE, the Special Operations Terminal Attack Controller Course and the Hazardous Material Course. Over the course of his career he deployed to Iraq, twice to Afghanistan, to Thailand and twice to the Philippines.
After a very hard Afghanistan deployment in which he lost a close friend and teammate, Matt left active duty in December 2014. His wife later said that it took only one drill weekend for him to realize how much he missed the Army. He joined the National Guard Special Forces, serving with ODA 2315, Company A, 3rd Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group and then with ODA 9115, Company A, 1st Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne) of the Washington Army National Guard. He had begun the process of returning to active duty. In July 2015 he deployed with his company to Afghanistan. The Army made it possible for him to come home briefly for the birth of his son, Declan, and he spent two weeks with the baby before returning to his team.
On January 5, 2016, Matt’s team came under fire near the city of Marjah in Helmand Province. The battle raged for hours. When two teammates were wounded, Matt left the cover of a compound under enemy fire to find and mark a landing zone so that a medical evacuation helicopter could reach his wounded friend. He was struck and killed by enemy fire. He was 30 years old. He was posthumously promoted to sergeant first class and awarded the Silver Star, the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart. His other decorations include two Army Commendation Medals, the Army Achievement Medal, two Army Good Conduct Medals, the NATO Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Special Forces Tab and the Parachutist Badge.
Major General Bret Daugherty, commander of the Washington National Guard, said, “Sergeant First Class McClintock was one of the best of the best. He was a Green Beret who sacrificed time away from his loved ones to train for and carry out these dangerous missions.” Matt was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery on March 7, 2016. Alexandra remembered a husband who was serious and skilled at his work but also funny, romantic and a little bit nerdy. “He loved his job; he was so passionate about it,” she said. “My husband’s a Green Beret. That’s who he is. I know if he woke up that day knowing that’s how the day was going to go, I know he wouldn’t have changed a thing.”
Matt is survived by Alexandra and their son Declan, his father and stepmother George and Rumi McClintock, his mother Joyce Montoya-Helgesen, his brother Kevin Williams, his grandparents Gilbert and Cecilia Montoya and a large extended family.
On January 5, 2016 SFC Matt McClintock's Team came under fire near the city of Marjah, Afghanistan. Matt took it upon himself to mark the DZ in order to signal for the MEDEVAC Helo in an attempt to save his teammates/friends.
Memorial Valor Foundation
Sources
- Army Times: Fallen Green Beret earns Silver Star for final act of heroism (Mar. 7, 2016)
- Washington State Military Department: SFC Matthew McClintock
- NCO Journal: Green Beret posthumously promoted to sergeant first class
- Military Times Hall of Valor: Matthew McClintock
- Family-provided records on file with MVF: Matt McClintock honoree documents
