Dwight W Birdwell
Dwight was born on the 19th of January 1948, in Amarillo, Texas, but grew up in Bell, Oklahoma, a predominantly Cherokee Indian community. After graduating from Stilwell High School in 1966, he enlisted in the US Army as an 11E, an armor crewman, and was eventually deployed in support of the Vietnam War in 1968 with the 25th Infantry Division. Though he would receive two Silver Stars and one Bronze Star for his actions during the war, it was his actions that earned him his first Silver Star that would see it later upgraded to the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:
Specialist Five Dwight W. Birdwell distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving with C Troop, 3d Squadron, 4th Cavalry, 25th Infantry Division in the Republic of Vietnam on 31 January, 1968. On this date, C Troop was ordered to move south to help repel an enemy attack on Tan Son Nhut Airbase. As the C Troop column of tanks and armored personnel carriers approached the west gate of Tan Son Nhut Airbase, it came under intense enemy fire from a building to its right. Unbeknown to C Troop, it had driven directly into an enemy force consisting of three battalions. The column tried to push through the initial attack but the lead tank, crippled by a rocket-propelled grenade explosion, was blocking the way forward. C Troop immediately came under heavy enemy fire from both sides of the road. Specialist Five Birdwell, upon seeing that his tank commander was wounded by enemy fire, immediately went to his aid. Under intense enemy fire, he lowered the injured tank commander to the ground, and moved him to safety. Specialist Five Birdwell then, with complete disregard for his own safety, mounted the tank and assumed the tank commander's position. Standing in the tank commander's hatch with the upper half of his body exposed to heavy enemy fire, Specialist Five Birdwell used the tank's .50 caliber machine gun and 90mm main gun to suppress the enemy attack. With the ammunition for the 90mm main gun exhausted, he continued to fire the .50 caliber machine gun until it overheated. At this point, Specialist Five Birdwell, rather than abandoning his position, continued to engage the enemy with his M-16 rifle, sometimes exposing his entire body to enemy fire in order to engage the enemy from a better vantage point. When a U.S. helicopter crashed nearby, Specialist Five Birdwell, under withering enemy fire, dismounted and moved to the helicopter where he retrieved two M-60 machine guns and ammunition. After giving one M-60 and ammunition to a fellow soldier, he remounted his tank and used the other M-60 to again engage the enemy. Specialist Five Birdwell continued to engage the enemy with complete disregard for his own safety until the M-60 he was firing was hit by enemy fire. Specialist Five Birdwell, now wounded in the face, neck, chest, and arms, dismounted the tank but refused to be medically evacuated. Instead, Specialist Five Birdwell, under enemy fire, rallied fellow soldiers to advance toward the front of the armored column where they set up a defensive position by a large tree. From this position, he and the other soldiers engaged the enemy with M-16 fire and grenades. As the enemy fire lessened, Specialist Five Birdwell gathered ammunition from disabled vehicles and helped wounded soldiers move to safer positions. His leadership and tenacity under fire inspired the other C Troop soldiers to continue fighting against the superior enemy force, and directly contributed to the enemy's ultimate defeat. Specialist Five Birdwell's extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
Six months later, Dwight again exposed himself to heavy enemy fire when he helped rescue Americans that were stranded in an enemy-occupied village. This would earn him a second Silver Star and he would be back home in the States five months later and complete his time in service. Dwight then went back to school, first at Northeastern State University and then to the University of Oklahoma School of Law, where he graduated in 1976. He has practiced law ever since then, eventually becoming the chief justice of the Judicial Appeals Tribunal of the Cherokee Nation until 1999, and currently has his own law office (the Birdwell Law Office) in Oklahoma City. As of writing this, Dwight and his wife have been married for 53 years and have two children and two grandchildren. He also wrote a book in 2000: A Hundred Miles of Bad Road: An Armored Cavalryman in Vietnam 1967-68.
When the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021 was passed, it allowed for a review and upgrade for Dwight’s Silver Star and on the 5th of July 2022, Dwight W Birdwell received the Medal of Honor from President Biden in a ceremony at the White House. Two days later, he was inducted into the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes.
