Pascal Poolaw

Pascal Poolaw
File:Pascal C Poolaw Sr.jpg Poolaw during the Korean War
Birth name	Pascal Cleatus Poolaw
Native tribe	Kiowa Nation
Born	(1922-01-29)January 29, 1922 Apache, Oklahoma, U.S.
Died	November 7, 1967(1967-11-07) (aged 45) near Loc Ninh, South Vietnam
Buried	Fort Sill National Cemetery
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
Years of service	1942–1962, 1967
Rank	First Sergeant
Service number	18131087
Regiments	8th Infantry Regiment 27th Infantry Regiment 26th Infantry Regiment
Wars	World War II Korean War Vietnam War (KIA)
Awards	Distinguished Service Cross Silver Star Medal (4) Bronze Star Medal (5) Purple Heart Medal (3)

Pascal Cleatus Poolaw (January 29, 1922 – November 7, 1967) was a Kiowa who served with the United States Army in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. He is the United States' most decorated Native American, with 42 medals and citations, including the Distinguished Service Cross, four Silver Stars, five Bronze Stars, as well as three Purple Hearts – one for each war.

Early life

Pascal Poolaw was born in Apache, Oklahoma, to Ralph Emerson Poolaw and Minnie Monetathchi Bointy. He married Irene Chalepah on March 15, 1940, and had four sons: Lester, Pascal Jr., Lindy, and Donnie.

Military career

In 1942, Poolaw joined his father and two brothers in World War II. He earned his first Purple Heart when he was wounded in September 1944. He earned his first Silver Star for his actions near Recogne, Belgium, while serving in Company M, 8th Infantry Regiment, when he pushed his unit forward under heavy fire and hurled hand grenades at enemy machine guns until the enemy dispersed.

He continued to serve in the Korean War, where he earned two more Silver Stars, and in July 1950, another Purple Heart, before his return to the United States in 1952. He retired from the Army in 1962.

Poolaw's son, Pascal Jr., had also joined the army and was serving in the Vietnam War in February 1967, when he was wounded in both legs by a landmine, and had to have his right leg amputated below the knee. Poolaw's youngest son Lindy was also drafted and set to deploy to Vietnam shortly thereafter.

Poolaw rejoined the Army to prevent Lindy from having to serve, by taking his place. Lindy had already shipped out and Poolaw had hoped to catch up with him in time, but when he arrived on the West Coast, he discovered his son had already left the day before. He decided to follow his son to Vietnam.

Poolaw was deployed on May 31, 1967, as the first sergeant of the 26th Infantry Regiment's C Company. On November 7, while on a search and destroy mission during the first battle of Loc Ninh, 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.

Legacy

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.

Awards and decorations

Poolaw was the recipient of the following military decorations and service medals:

File:CIB3.svg
File:Distinguished Service Cross ribbon.svg
Bronze oak leaf cluster Bronze oak leaf cluster Bronze oak leaf cluster File:Silver Star Medal ribbon.svg	V Bronze oak leaf cluster Bronze oak leaf cluster Bronze oak leaf cluster Bronze oak leaf cluster File:Bronze Star ribbon.svg	Bronze oak leaf cluster Bronze oak leaf cluster File:Purple Heart ribbon.svg
File:Air Medal ribbon.svg	V Bronze oak leaf cluster Bronze oak leaf cluster File:Army Commendation Medal ribbon.svg	File:Army Good Conduct Medal ribbon.svgRibbon clasp
File:American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg	Arrowhead Silver star File:European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign ribbon.svg	File:World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg
File:Army of Occupation ribbon.svg	Bronze oak leaf cluster File:National Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg	Silver star Bronze star Bronze star File:Korean Service Medal ribbon.svg
File:Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal ribbon.svg	Bronze star Bronze star File:Vietnam Service Medal ribbon.svg	File:Korea Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg
File:United Nations Service Medal Korea ribbon.svg	File:Vietnam Campaign Medal ribbon with 60- clasp.svg	File:Korean War Service Medal ribbon.svg

File:U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force Presidential Unit Citation ribbon.svg File:Meritorious Unit Commendation ribbon.svg
File:Korean Presidential Unit Citation.png	File:Presidential Unit Citation Vietnam (Army sized).png	File:Gallantry Cross Unit Citation.png

Footnotes

Sources

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from