Billy Walkabout, a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma who was most decorated Indian soldier of the Vietnam War, died on March 7. He was 57.
Walkabout received the Distinguished Service Cross -- the second-highest award for combat service -- as well as the Purple Heart, five Silver Stars and five Bronze Stars. He was recognized for surviving an assassination mission in Vietnam that took the lives of nearly every member of his team.
"Although stunned and wounded by the blast, Sgt. Walkabout rushed from man to man administering first aid, bandaging one soldier's severe chest wound and reviving another soldier by heart massage," his Distinguished Service Cross citation states, the AP reported. "Only when the casualties had been evacuated and friendly reinforcements had arrived, did he allow himself to be evacuated."
Walkabout spent most of his life in Oklahoma and moved to eastern Connecticut several years ago with his wife, Juanita Medbury-Walkabout, a member of the Mohegan Tribe. He suffered complications related to his exposure to Agent Orange, his stepdaughter said. He died of pneumonia and renal failure, and was awaiting a kidney transplant.
Get the Story:Mohegans salute 'warrior' (The Norwich Bulletin 3/12)
Billy Walkabout Dies; Decorated Vietnam Vet (AP 3/12)
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Sacred Fire For A Hero (The New London Day 3/11)
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