After graduating from Melrose High School, McLaughlin was admitted to study at Yale and majored in economics, and played American football and Lacrosse.

On February 25 1971, while flying close-air support missions during Operation Lam Son 719 for South Vietnamese Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) forces at Fire Support Base 31 (FSB 31) (16°42′54″N 106°25′34″E / 16.715°N 106.426°E / 16.715; 106.426), 1st Lieutenant McLaughlin's Phantom was shot down and both McLaughlin and his fellow crew member, Captain David Hedditch, were forced to eject.

Multiple helicopter rescues of McLaughlin and Hedditch were attempted, but each time they were driven off by PAVN 37mm anti-aircraft guns, forcing the men to spend the night on the ground.

[3][4][2] The following day 75 fast-jet sorties were made against PAVN positions to suppress the anti-aircraft fire, with McLaughlin and Hedditch acting as forward-air controllers.

Writing in 1977, ARVN Major-General Nguyễn Duy Hinh stated that the base could possibly have been saved if air-support had not been diverted to the rescue effort.