5. Floyd Madison Wilson, From Czechoslovakia, to Korea, to Vietnam
Floyd Madison Wilson was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 1924, and joined the US Army during WWII. He served with the 35th Infantry Regiment, before getting reassigned to the 5th Infantry Division, with whom Wilson saw combat in the European Theater. He distinguished himself as a combat patrol leader, as the 5th fought its way from Normandy in northern France, all the way to Czechoslovakia in central Europe by war’s end.
After the war, Wilson graduated from Fort Benning’s Parachute and Glider School in 1948. When the Korean War began, he found himself back with his original unit, the 35th Infantry Regiment, and fought with them throughout that conflict. He remained in the Army long enough for the Vietnam War, where ended up serving in Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), in an intelligence capacity. He retired as a major, after a long military career during which he received the Bronze Star with two oak leaves, various Purple Hearts for wounds in action, and sundry other decorations. Floyd Madison Wilson passed away in 2003, and was buried in Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas.