Walkabout - A Warrior's
Spirit
Limited Edition
Prints
Signed
& Numbered
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Giclee Art
Print
Limited Edition
Size 11.75"x23.75"
Edition size 1000
$100 |
Giclee Art
Print
Artist Proofs
Size 11.75"x23.75"
Edition size 95
$125 |
Giclee Art
Print
Limited Edition
Size 14"x28"
Edition size 150
$250
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| Not
currently available. May be available at a future
date. Prices subject to change due to limited quanties per
death of artist. Contact Heritage Art Marketing if
interested. |
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This painting was created to honor a true Cherokee Warrior and Hero,
Billy Walkabout. Walkabout, a full-blood Cherokee, was the most decorated Native American in the Vietnam war and a member of Co. F, 58th Inf., 101st Airborne, Rangers. As part of the Phoenix project, the ten-man patrol was ambushed after the secrecy of the mission was compromised. Three of the men were killed and the others were wounded. Billy called in air support and mortar fire to help get the men out, but in the process crawled around to different points and laid down fire to make the enemy think that more than one able-bodied man was fighting.
When the choppers arrived one by one Walkabout strapped the wounded men onto the fold-out
penetrator struts to be winched out. Each time he had to lay down a stream of advanced gunfire, then
ran into the open and grab the penetrator and slip and slide up a blood-soaked hill. Gary A. Linderer, one of the wounded, later recounted in his book
Eyes of the Eagle, "Indian wrapped his arms around Conteros and the penetrator, lifted both clear of the ground, then carried his burden the necessary distance to place it directly under the hovering
medevac. I watched in disbelief. A hero was earning a Medal of Honor before my eyes, and I wasn't going to survive to see him get it."
He did survive, but Walkabout never received a Medal of Honor. Instead he received a Distinguished Service Cross, the
second-highest military award. During the ceremony a general confided in Walkabout, "We down-graded since you aren't dead." Later in the interview with Walkabout he stated "I'll always be remembered as a professional soldier!" After reading this and having several friends in the military as well as in civilian life who served in Vietnam, I k this was the perfect opportunity to pay tribute to the men and women of the Vietnam War and to a
true Cherokee Warrior.
2000 Trail of Tears Competition
Best of Division
People's Choice Award
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