Billy Walkabout
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Billy Walkabout | |
|---|---|
| March 31, 1949 – March 7, 2007 | |
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| Place of birth | Cherokee County, Oklahoma |
| Place of death | Montville, Connecticut |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Rank | Second Lieutenant |
| Unit | 101st Airborne Division US Army Rangers |
| Battles/wars | Vietnam War |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Cross Silver Star Medal with Four Oak Leaves Clusters Bronze Star Medal(10 awards with Five "V" Devices) Purple Heart (6 awards) Air Medal with numeral "7" Army Commendation Medal (10 Awards) |
| Relations | Juanita Medbury-Walkabout (wife) |
Billy Walkabout (March 31, 1949 - March 7, 2007) was thought to be the most decorated Native American soldier of the Vietnam War. He received the Distinguished Service Cross, five Silver Stars, ten Bronze Stars (including 5 with valor device), seven Air Medals, 10 Army Commendation Medals (including five with valor device), and six Purple Hearts.
Walkabout was born in Cherokee County, Oklahoma. He was a Cherokee of the Blue Holley Clan, the son of Warren Walkabout and Bobby Jean Chaudoin Walkabout.
Walkabout served as an Army Ranger in Vietnam, in the Co. F, 58th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. He was awarded his Distinguished Service Cross for his actions in an reconnaissance mission behind enemy lines in November 1968. Under fire for several hours, Sergeant Walkabout was seriously wounded, three members of his 12-strong team were killed at the scene, and one other died later from his injuries. The citation for his award notes that he simultaneously returned fire, helped his comrades, and boarded injured soldiers onto evacuation helicopters. He spent six months in a coma, recovering, and later returned to Vietnam. He retired as a second lieutenant.
He married Juanita Medbury-Walkabout, a Mohegan Indian, in 2000. They lived in Montville, Connecticut.
He suffered from complications arising from exposure to the Agent Orange defoliant used in Vietnam. He was waiting for a kidney transplant, and took dialysis three times a week. He died of pneumonia and renal failure in a hospital in Norwich, Connecticut, survived by his wife and several children from earlier marriages.
