Clifford Allen Maughan was born on January 29, 1920, in Yakima, Washington. He was the son of James Arthur Maughan and Barbara Janet Frew. He was married to Laurie Griffin Maughan. Clifford registered for military service in 1942. He served Company F, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division, as a Private First Class during World War II.

On June 6, 1944. Maughan parachuted into the garden of a house in Sainte-Mère-Église in France where he was briefly captured by a German soldier staying there. However, as the battle shifted in favor of the Allied forces, the German soldier eventually surrendered to Maughan. Maughan went on to fight in other critical campaigns in Europe, including the operations in Normandy and Holland, and he survived the war. He passed away on October 7, 1990, at the age of 70. He is now buried in the Riverside National Cemetery.