After finishing school, he began officer training at the
U.S. Military Academy (USMA) at
West Point, New York. At the same time, he studied military science there, graduating with a
Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in 1944.
World War II He then held numerous officer appointments, his first being as a field artillery officer in the
89th Infantry Division, the so-called "Rolling W". In April 1945, as a young lieutenant in a unit, he was stationed at the
Ohrdruf forced labor camp, part of the larger
Buchenwald concentration camp. Ohrdruf was the first Nazi concentration camp to fall into US hands. In archival films of the liberation, McAuliffe can be seen ordering
SS members and local citizens to enter a death chamber and view the victims of the Holocaust. When three high-ranking army generals—
Dwight D. Eisenhower,
Omar N. Bradley, and
George S. Patton—visited the camp, he was close enough to see their expressions.
Post-World War II He later studied electrical engineering at the
University of Pennsylvania, graduating with a
Master of Science in
Electrical Engineering in 1950. From 1964 to 1965 he served as an artillery officer in the headquarters of the
I Corps in Korea, for which he was first awarded the
Legion of Merit. Upon his return he moved to the office of the
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
General Earle Wheeler, where he initially served as the Army representative to the staff group from 1966 to 1967, and then as the Executive Officer to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1967 to 1969. He was again awarded the second Legion of Merit for his military service.
Vietnam War During the Vietnam War, McAuliffe was initially deputy commander of the
1st Infantry Division ("the Big Red One"), from 1969 to 1970. Then, between 1970 and 1971, he was deputy chief advisor to the
III Corps stationed in
South Vietnam and
III Corps Tactical Zone there. At the same time, he served as commanding general of the Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) in III Corps Tactical Zone. He was awarded the
Army Distinguished Service Medal for his services as Deputy Senior Advisor to Commanding General, III Corps Tactical Zone.
Post-Vietnam He then moved to the
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in 1971, where he served as head of the Policy Division of the Plans and Policy Division until 1973. For his services he was again awarded the third Legion of Merit. Upon his return to the United States, he initially served as Deputy Commanding General, Combined Arms Combat Developments Activity (CAED) at the newly established
U.S. Army Combined Arms Center (USACAC) at
Fort Leavenworth from 1973 to 1974. He then served at the
U.S. Department of Defense, where he served as Director of the
European Region in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs,
Robert Fred Ellsworth, from 1974 to 1975. In August 1975, then-
Lieutenant general McAuliffe succeeded General
William B. Rosson as
Commander-in-Chief, US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), stationed at
Quarry Heights in the Panama Canal Zone. He held this command until September 1979, when he was succeeded by Lieutenant general
Wallace H. Nutting. He also served as a member of the Canal Zone Civilian Personnel Coordinating Board and the Panama Review Committee from August 1975 to September 1979. He was awarded the
Defense Distinguished Service Medal for his service. == Post-military service ==