[2] After finishing high school, McLaughlin was employed by the Works Progress Administration as the leader of recreation activities for the WPA program in Winooski.

[3] In January 1942, McLaughlin volunteered for World War II by enlisting in the United States Army Air Forces.

[4] He completed his initial training at Sheppard Field near Wichita Falls, Texas,[4] then served in the South West Pacific theatre.

[7] In June 1945, he returned to the United States and was assigned to the Army Air Forces Redistribution Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

[6][9] After his military service, McLaughlin resided in Burlington and attended Saint Michael's College in Colchester.

[17] In 1979, Vermont's United States District Court was the site of the trial of Kristina Berster, a resident of West Germany who was accused of being a member of the Red Army Faction terrorist group.