In a 2022 Profile of Valor, I mentioned four new Army Medal of Honor recipients — long overdue recognition for their heroic actions in Vietnam.

One of those recipients was Dwight Birdwell, a quiet man with a formidable presence, who will be our guest of honor at the upcoming National Medal of Honor Heritage Center Spirit of Service Dinner, part of our America 250 celebration.

As I have noted regarding long delays between service rendered and recognized, Medal of Honor nominees are, first and foremost, humble warriors. Thus, it is not in their nature to advocate for their personal recognition. The advocacy to upgrade a warrior’s prior decoration to a Medal of Honor falls to others — often those with whom the recipient served, and frequently many decades after their “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.”

Dwight is a native of Amarillo, Texas. He is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and grew up in the small Cherokee community of Bell, Oklahoma. At a young age, he learned outdoor skills from his father, a World War I veteran, and those skills would help him survive years later in a far-off place.

He graduated from nearby Stilwell High School in 1966 and joined the Army. His initial training was at the Armored School in Fort Knox, Kentucky, and from there he was deployed to Korea for 10 months. In 1967, he was reassigned for the next 16 months to the 2nd Battalion, 34th Armored Division, and then the 4th Cavalry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division in Vietnam.

When the Tet Offensive was heating up in January 1968, 20-year-old Birdwell was assigned to Troop C of the 4th’s 3rd Squadron, when they were sent south of Saigon to defend the Tan Son Nhut Air Base. On 31 January, 3rd Squadron was the first ground unit to arrive to assist the air base, and unbeknownst to them, as they approached the west gate of the base, they were about to be surrounded by three enemy battalions. They attempted to surge through the attack, but the tank at the front of their line was disabled, blocking their advance, and they were subjected to intense enemy fire from both sides of their roadway.

According to his Medal of Honor citation:

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. [He] 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, SP5 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, 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.

His citation continues:

When a U.S. helicopter crashed nearby, 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. 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. Birdwell, now wounded in the face, neck, chest, and arms, dismounted the tank but refused to be medically evacuated. Instead, under enemy fire, [he] 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, SP5 Birdwell gathered ammunition from disabled vehicles and helped wounded soldiers move to safer positions.

His citation concludes: “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.”

Over the course of his remaining tour in Vietnam, he would receive two Silver Stars, a Bronze Star for meritorious service, and two Purple Hearts. His first Silver Star for actions at Tan Son Nhut Air Base was upgraded to a Medal of Honor. Notably, his second Silver Star was earned six months later when, at perilous risk to his own life, he rescued Americans stranded in an enemy-occupied village.

Dwight returned stateside in December 1968 and married his sweetheart, Virginia. He then attended Northeastern State University, graduating with academic distinction. Then it was to the University of Oklahoma College for a law degree in 1976, also with academic distinction.

In the years since, Dwight has served on the Judicial Appeals Tribunal (Supreme Court) of the Cherokee Nation and now serves as a Cherokee Nation Gaming Commissioner. He has been honored by the Oklahoma Bar Association and Board of Trial Advocates.

It was Birdwell’s Vietnam Commanding General Glenn Otis who lobbied for decades for his Silver Star upgrade. When Otis died in 2013, fellow soldiers took up the effort to get the Pentagon to correct the “bureaucratic missteps” that Otis noted had prevented the original upgrade, and that was finally completed in 2022. He became the 33rd Native American to earn the Medal of Honor.

In typical humility, when receiving his Medal, he said, “I did so with the thought that it wasn’t really for me, I’m just a custodian; it appropriately belongs to the men who did not make it that day who were KIA, the men seriously wounded and their families.”

Of his own service, he said with pride, “There’s nothing like serving the United States of America.”

He and Virginia now live in Oklahoma City, where they just celebrated 56 years together. They have two children and two grandchildren.

You can listen to the historical account of his actions in Vietnam. He also co-authored his biography, A Hundred Miles of Bad Road.

SP5 Dwight W. Birdwell: An ordinary man faced with extraordinary circumstances, he summoned the greatest measure of courage to place his life in imminent peril to save others. Your example of valor — a humble American Patriot defending Liberty for all above and beyond the call of duty — is eternal. Live your life worthy of his sacrifice.

“Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:13)

Join us in daily prayer for our Patriots in uniform standing in harm’s way in defense of American Liberty, and for the families awaiting their safe return. Pray also for our Veterans, First Responders, and their families.

(Read more Profiles of Valor here.)

Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis
Pro Deo et Libertate — 1776

Follow Mark Alexander on X/Twitter.

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