Poolaw, born in 1922 in Oklahoma, is possibly the Nation's highest decorated Native American earning the Distinguished Service Cross, four Silver Stars, five Bronze Stars, as well as three Purple Hearts – one for each war he served in.
In World War II, Poolaw fought in Belgium, while serving in the 8th Infantry Regiment's M Company, leading his unit against German forces, clearing machine gun positions with hand grenades, an action in which he was wounded.
He served in the Korean War, where he earned two more Silver Stars, and in July 1950, another Purple Heart. He returned to the United States in 1952, and served until his retirement from the Army in 1962.
Two wars and two war wounds weren't enough for this Warrior. Poolaw's son, Pascal Jr., had also joined the army and was serving in the Vietnam War in 1967, when he was wounded by a landmine and had his right leg amputated. Poolaw's youngest son Lindy was also drafted and set to deploy to Vietnam shortly thereafter.
Poolaw unretired and re-enlisted in the Army following son Lindy to Vietnam and serving as the first sergeant of Charlie Company, 26th Infantry Regiment. A couple months later, while on a search and destroy mission during the first battle of Loc Ninh, 1SG Poolaw and his unit were ambushed by the Viet Cong. He was killed while attempting to pull a unit casualty to safety, and posthumously awarded a fourth Silver Star.
At his funeral his wife stated: "He has followed the trail of the great chiefs." A building at the U.S. Army base in Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma— where he was stationed prior to his deployment to Vietnam — is named in his honor. He is interned at the Fort Sill National Cemetery.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete