Billy Walkabout Billy Walkabout ( March 31 , 1949 - March 7 , 2007 ) is thought to be the most decorated Native American soldier of the Vietnam War . He received the Distinguished Service Cross , five Silver Stars ( one upgraded to a Distinguished Service Cross ) , ten Bronze Star Medal five with Valor device , one Army Commendation Medal s ( including one valor device and two oak leaf clusters ) , and six Purple Heart s . Background and family . Walkabout was born on March 31 , 1949 in Cherokee County , Oklahoma . He was a Cherokee of the Blue Holly Clan , " Anisahoni " , and was the son of Warren Walkabout and Bobby Jean Chaudoin Walkabout . Billy has a daughter , Summer Dawn Walkabout , currently stationed , with her husband Brian , in Georgia . Billy has three sons , Justin Walkabout , who still resides in Oklahoma ; Jason Knapp , who is currently stationed in Georgia ; and Shane Allen Walkabout , living in Texas with his wife Jeanette . Justin and Jason have served in the Army . He married Juanita Medbury - Walkabout , a Mohegan Indian , in 2000 . They lived in Uncasville , Connecticut . Military service . Walkabout served as an Army Ranger in Vietnam , in the Company F , 58th Infantry , 101st Airborne Division . Walkabout ( then Specialist Four ) distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 20 November 1968 during a long range reconnaissance patrol southwest of Hue . After successfully ambushing an enemy squad on a jungle trail , the friendly patrol radioed for immediate helicopter extraction . When the extraction helicopters arrived and the lead man began moving toward the pick - up zone , he was seriously wounded by hostile automatic weapons fire . Sergeant Walkabout quickly rose to his feet and delivered steady suppressive fire on the attackers while other team members pulled the wounded man back to their ranks . Sergeant Walkabout then administered first aid to the soldier in preparation for medical evacuation . As the man was being loaded onto the evacuation helicopter , enemy elements again attacked the team . Maneuvering under heavy fire , Sergeant Walkabout positioned himself where the enemy were concentrating their assault and placed continuous rifle fire on the adversary . A command - detonated mine ripped through the friendly team , instantly killing three men and wounding all the others . Although stunned and wounded by the blast , Sergeant Walkabout rushed from man to man administering first aid , bandaging one soldier ' s severe chest wound and reviving another soldier by heart massage . He then coordinated gunship and tactical air strikes on the enemy ' s positions . When evacuation helicopters arrived again , he worked single - handedly under fire to board his disabled comrades . Only when the casualties had been evacuated and friendly reinforcements had arrived , did he allow himself to be extracted . He retired as a second lieutenant . Death . 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 . He was honored in a portrait , " Walkabout : A Warrior ' s Spirit , " by Cherokee artist Talmadge Davis . Quote . " I ' m at peace with myself . I ' ve got my dignity and I ' ve got my pride . . . . I never lost the war in Vietnam , I never lost a day of it . Even when I was wounded , I didn ' t lose . When I fought , I won . I won my wars . " – Billy Walkabout , 1986