1,000 Man Ambush: SP5 Dwight W. Birdwell

Welcome to the Medal of Honor podcast, brought to you in partnership with the National Medal of Honor Museum. I’m Ken Harbaugh. In each episode, we’ll learn about a different service member who has distinguished him or herself through an act of valor.

Dwight W. Birdwell was born on January 19th, 1948 in Amarillo, Texas. A citizen of the Cherokee Nation, he grew up in the small, predominantly Cherokee community of Bell in Oklahoma. After graduating high school, he entered the Army in 1966 at the age of 18.

On January 31st, 1968, then Specialist 5 Birdwell and his troop of tanks and armored personnel carriers were headed to Dau Tieng when they were given orders to alter course and head to Tan Son Nhut Air Base. They were told that a platoon of North Vietnamese soldiers had attacked the base, and that support was needed. Birdwell and his platoon were the first unit to arrive on the scene. To their dismay, they were not met by a platoon of NVA, but rather an ambush of over 1,000 enemies. NVA forces had seen Birdwell’s Troop approaching, and had let them advance to the point where they were surrounded on two sides before attacking.

Birdwell and his comrades immediately took heavy casualties. The NVA fired from either side of the road, and the Troop’s leading tank was quickly disabled, blocking the path forward. When Birdwell’s tank commander was gravely wounded, Birdwell rushed to his aid, lowering him to the ground, and moving him to safety under intense fire. Birdwell then re-mounted and took command of the tank. Exposed from the waist up, he stood in the hatch and laid down fire with the tank’s 90mm main gun. Twice the gun jammed, but both times Birwell removed the searing hot unfired round out of the barrel, and tossed it out of the tank, burning his hands in order to resume firing. Birdwell’s fire created a position of relative safety for injured men behind the tank, but soon enemy forces began closing in on the left side. Firing the tank in their direction would risk hitting friendly injured troops, so he stood up on top of the tank, exposing himself even more to gain a better vantage point, and fired his M16 rifle. When he had successfully driven back the enemy, he returned to his position in the hatch and fired the tank until it ran out of ammo. He then switched to the .50 caliber machine gun mounted on top of the tank, all while giving battle updates to his commanders until the communication system was shot off his helmet. Eventually a friendly helicopter crashed nearby. Birdwell ran through heavy fire to the crash, grabbing two m60 machine guns & ammunition from the helicopter. He then passed one of the machine guns off to a fellow soldier before returning to his tank, mounting the other machine gun on top of it, and resuming fire. He did this until a sudden explosion destroyed the machine gun, sending shrapnel into his face, chest, arms, and hands. Birdwell took the queue and gathered a few nearby soldiers to take cover in the ditch next to the road, where they continued engaging the enemy. At one point Birdwell was ordered to hop on an evac helicopter due to his wounds, but after boarding, he crawled right back off the other side in order to keep fighting. He then helped treat other wounded soldiers and continued engaging the enemy until reinforcements arrived. Only then did he finally agree to be evac’ed.

Birdwell’s bravery and leadership was crucial to the defense of Tan Son Nhut, and directly led to an American victory. This NVA attack was one of several that marked the beginning of the Tet Offensive, which became one of the bloodiest periods in the Vietnam War.

Birdwell was initially awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions, and his commanding officer, General Glen Otis, said he would recommend him for the Medal of Honor. However, in an act of racism, the events of January 31st were intentionally recorded incorrectly in order to prevent Birdwell from receiving the medal. Major chunks of Birdwell’s heroism were missing, and as a result, it was not originally upgraded. Otis didn’t know this, and only learned decades later when he reconnected with Birdwell in the late 80s. Otis promised to help Birdwell get the recognition he deserved, and worked to do so until his death in 2013.

In the meantime, Birdwell became a lawyer and started his own practice. Eventually he became a member of the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court, serving for 32 years, three of which he served as Chief Justice.

Finally on July 5th, 2022, over 50 years after his defense of Tan Son Nhut, SP5 Dwight W. Birdwell was awarded the Medal of Honor for his leadership and tenacity. His other awards include two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star, and two Silver Stars.

The Medal of Honor podcast is a production of Evergreen Podcasts.

Nathan Corson is our executive producer and mixing engineer, Declan Rohrs is our associate producer, scriptwriter, and recording engineer, and I’m Ken Harbaugh.

We are proud to support the National Medal of Honor Museum. To learn more, and to support their mission, go to mohmuseum.org. Thanks for listening.