Vietnam War Hero Billy Walkabout, 57

Billy Walkabout, 57, a native Cherokee whose actions in Vietnam made him among the most decorated soldiers of the war, died March 7 at a hospital in Norwich, Conn. He had pneumonia and renal failure.

Mr. Walkabout received the Distinguished Service Cross, five awards of the Silver Star, five awards of the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. He was believed to be the most decorated Native American soldier of the Vietnam War, according to Defense Department reports.

Mr. Walkabout had medical complications related to his exposure to the Agent Orange defoliant used during the war, according to the family, and he had been on a kidney transplant waiting list and undergoing dialysis three times a week.

On Nov. 20, 1968, Mr. Walkabout, a Cherokee of the Blue Holley Clan, was an 18-year-old Army Ranger sergeant when he and 12 other soldiers were sent on an assassination mission behind enemy lines in a region southwest of Hue.

However, they ended up in the enemy's battalion area and came under fire for hours, during which Mr. Walkabout was seriously wounded. Several of the other 12 men were killed at the scene, while the rest later died of their injuries.

Mr. Walkabout's citation for the Distinguished Service Cross said he simultaneously returned fire, helped his comrades and helped other injured soldiers onto evacuation helicopters.

"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," the citation states.

In a 1986 interview with the Associated Press, Mr. Walkabout said his 23 months in Vietnam left him with disabling injuries and memories that refused to fade.

"War is not hell," he said. "It's worse."

He said he struggled with failed marriages, thoughts of suicide and years of isolation when he would spend six months at a time alone.

Over the years, however, he found solace in the Native American powwows where he often was an honored guest.

At the time of Mr. Walkabout's death, he and his wife, Juanita Medbury-Walkabout, lived in a part of eastern Connecticut that is home to many American Indians.