OKLAHOMA CITY â An Oklahoma man who saved many of his fellow soldiers during a Vietnamese ambush 53 years ago is among four veterans whose heroism is being considered for an upgrade to the Medal of Honor.Â
The proposed upgrades of the four veteransâ medals were included in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021. It waives the five-year year period between the acts of valor and approval of the Medal of Honor. The Authorization Act was passed, then vetoed, and then revived when Congress overrode the veto.
Oklahoma Senior U.S. Senator James Inhofe, an Army veteran, wrote the legislation.Â
Dwight Birdwell, a Cherokee Nation citizen and native of Bell in Adair County, lives in Norman and practices law in Oklahoma City. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame on Oct. 21, 2017.
Oklahoma Vietnam veteran Dwight Birdwell now eligible for Medal of Honor consideration John Greiner
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An Oklahoma man who saved many of his fellow soldiers during a Vietnamese ambush 53 years ago is among four veterans whose heroism is being considered for an upgrade to the Medal of Honor.
The National Defense Authorization Act of 2021, passed when Congress overrode the veto by former President Donald Trump, waives the five-year period between acts of valor and approval of the Medal of Honor for the four veterans.
The legislation was written by Sen. James Inhofe, R-Tulsa.
Birdwell, a native of Adair County, lives in Norman and practices law in Oklahoma City. He was awarded two Silver Star Medals for his valor in Vietnam. One of the Silver Stars could now be upgraded to Medal of Honor because of the National Defense Authorization Act. To date, Birdwell has not heard anything further about the Medal of Honor.
John Greiner
Special to The Oklahoman
An Oklahoma man who saved many of his fellow soldiers during a Vietnamese ambush 53 years ago is among four veterans whose heroism is being considered for an upgrade to the Medal of Honor.
The National Defense Authorization Act of 2021, passed when Congress overrode the veto by former President Donald Trump, waives the five-year period between acts of valor and approval of the Medal of Honor for the four veterans.
The legislation was written by Sen. James Inhofe, R-Tulsa.
Birdwell, a native of Adair County, lives in Norman and practices law in Oklahoma City. He was awarded two Silver Star Medals for his valor in Vietnam. One of the Silver Stars could now be upgraded to Medal of Honor because of the National Defense Authorization Act. To date, Birdwell has not heard anything further about the Medal of Honor.
By LTC Craig Roberts, USAR, Ret.
Nov 2013 Soldier of Fortune
In the early morning hours of January 31st, 1968, Communist forces across South Vietnam began an offensive that would later become known as the “Tet Offensive.” For months the attacks against American and South Vietnamese bases had been planned and organized. The North Vietnamese generals, led by Minister of Defense Vo Nguyen Giap, had planned the attack to coincide with Vietnam’s Lunar New Year, a holiday season where many of the South Vietnamese troops would be home on leave, or at least not on duty at their various bases.
The plan was bold. For the Saigon attacks Giap formulated a coordinated attack with missions to seize and neutralize key command and control centers, armor and artillery depots at Go Vap, take over the Cholon sector of Saigon, neutralize Tan Son Nhut Air Base in Saigon, and at the same time destroy the Newport Bridge that linked Saigon to L