Pascal Poolaw
Pascal Cleatus Poolaw | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 22, 1922 Apache, Caddo County, Oklahoma |
| Died | November 7, 1967 (aged 45) Bình Phước Province, Vietnam |
| Place of burial | Fort Sill Post Cemetery |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/ |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1942–1967 |
| Unit | Company M, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division (World War II) Company C, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry (Vietnam) |
| Battles/wars | World War II Korean War Vietnam War |
| Awards | Silver Star Medal (4) Bronze Star Medal (5) Purple Heart Medal (3) |
Pascal Cleatus Poolaw, Sr (January 22, 1922 – November 7, 1967) was a Kiowa Native American who fought in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. He was regarded as United States' most decorated Native American soldier with 42 medals and citations including four Silver Stars, five Bronze Stars and three Purple Hearts, one for each war he fought in.[1][2]
Biography
Pascal was born in Apache, Oklahoma to Ralph E. Poolaw and Minnie Bointy. Pascal Poolaw married Irene Chalepah and had 3 sons, Lester, Pascal Jr and Lindy. In 1942, Pascal joined his father in World War II. He earned his first Silver Star for his actions near Recogne, Belgium while serving in Company M, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. He pushed his unit forward under heavy fire and hurled hand grenades at enemy machine guns until the enemy dispersed. He later took part in the Normandy landings.[3]
Pascal continued to serve in the Korean War where he earned two more Silver Stars before returning to the United States in 1952. He retired from the Army in 1962, but rejoined to prevent his youngest son, Lindy from fighting in Vietnam.[4]
He was deployed May 31, 1967 as the First Sergeant of Company C, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry. On November 7, 1967, while on a search and destroy mission near the village of Loc Ninh Pascal and his unit was ambushed by Viet Cong. He was killed while attempting to pull a unit casualty to safety.
At his funeral his wife stated "[Poolaw] has followed the trail of the great chiefs". A building at Fort Sill Army Base in Lawton, Oklahoma, where he was stationed prior to his deployment to Vietnam, is named in his honor.[5] A petition has been made for Poolaw to received the Medal of Honor posthumously.
See also
References
- ^ "Pascal C. Poolaw Sr. - Native Americans in the United States Army". army.mil. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
- ^ "Pascal Cleatus Poolaw Sr, First Sergeant from Oklahoma, Vietnam Conflict Casualty". honorstates.org. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
- ^ Martin King; David Hilborn; Jason Nulton (30 November 2016). To War with the 4th. Casemate. pp. 152–. ISBN 978-1-61200-400-6.
- ^ Geoffrey C. Ward; Ken Burns (5 September 2017). The Vietnam War: An Intimate History. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. pp. 244–. ISBN 978-1-5247-3310-0.
- ^ "Kiowa citizen Pascal Cleatus Poolaw considered most decorated Indian soldier". Indianz. 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2018-02-02.