A member of the Vermont National Guard died during a training rotation in Louisiana over the weekend.
Sgt. Willard Magoon, 25, experienced “flu-like symptoms” while training at Fort Polk, according to a statement from the Vermont National Guard. Magoon’s condition worsened and he died from cardiac complications Sunday afternoon at a New Orleans hospital.
“We are shocked, and deeply saddened, by the death of Sgt. Magoon,” said Vermont National Guard Adjutant General Gregory Knight in a statement reported by WCAX-TV, a CBS affiliate. “We are here for his family, and will offer them all the support we can during this trying time.”
Magoon was a member of Bravo Company, 186th Brigade Support Battalion, with the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. He was one of 5,000 National Guard troops from around the country training at Fort Polk’s Joint Readiness Training Center, where recruits are put through simulated combat scenarios.
Vermont National Guard spokesman Capt. Mike Arcovitch told the Burlington Free Press that the military is not investigating Magoon’s death.
Vermont Gov. Phil Scott offered his condolences to Magoon’s family and fellow troops in the Vermont National Guard. “I mourn alongside you, as we come to grips with this tragic loss,” he said in a statement.
