World War II Medal of Honor Recipient. He received the award from President Harry S. Truman at the White House on August 23, 1945 for his actions as a sergeant with Company I, 7th Infantry, 44th Infantry Division, US Army, on January 1, 1945, near Wœlfling, France, during the German Ardennes Offensive, more commonly known as the Battle of the Bulge. A Canadian immigrant, he joined the US Army in January 1942 following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. After his Army training, he was sent to England in preparation for the Allied Invasion of France in June 1944. He landed at Omaha Beach during the Normandy Invasion, and by December 16, 1944 he was engaged at the Battle of the Bulge. When his unit was surrounded on January 1, 1945, by the 17th German Panzer Grenadier Division, a Waffen-SS Panzer unit, he picked up a machine gun and knocked out four German machine gun nests, killing 36 German soldiers, and losing his left arm in the process. He was also awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart (with three oak leaf clusters), the Soldier's Medal, and the French Croix de guerre. Following the war, he worked for the US Customs Service as a warehouse officer and later as a an agent for their Office of Special Investigations, retiring in 1975. He died at the age of 83. His Medal of Honor citation reads: "He led a squad when his unit moved forward in darkness to meet the threat of a breakthrough by elements of the 17th German Panzer Grenadier Division. Assigned to protect the left flank, he discovered hostile troops digging in. As he reported this information, several German machine-guns opened fire, stopping the American advance. Knowing the position of the enemy, Sgt. MacGillivary volunteered to knock out 1 of the guns while another company closed in from the right to assault the remaining strong points. He circled from the left through woods and snow, carefully worked his way to the emplacement and shot the 2 camouflaged gunners at a range of 3 feet as other enemy forces withdrew. Early in the afternoon of the same day, Sgt. MacGillivary was dispatched on reconnaissance and found that Company I was being opposed by about 6 machine-guns reinforcing a company of fanatically fighting Germans. His unit began an attack but was pinned down by furious automatic and small arms fire. With a clear idea of where the enemy guns were placed, he voluntarily embarked on a lone combat patrol. Skillfully taking advantage of all available cover, he stalked the enemy, reached a hostile machine-gun and blasted its crew with a grenade. He picked up a submachine gun from the battlefield and pressed on to within 10 yards of another machine-gun, where the enemy crew discovered him and feverishly tried to swing their weapon into line to cut him down. He charged ahead, jumped into the midst of the Germans and killed them with several bursts. Without hesitation, he moved on to still another machine-gun, creeping, crawling, and rushing from tree to tree, until close enough to toss a grenade into the emplacement and close with its defenders. He dispatched this crew also, but was himself seriously wounded. Through his indomitable fighting spirit, great initiative, and utter disregard for personal safety in the face of powerful enemy resistance, Sgt. MacGillivary destroyed four hostile machine-guns and immeasurably helped his company to continue on its mission with minimum casualties."