PFC Willie Gene Gaddy

Our Hometown Heroes

Willie Gene Gaddy

One Tough Airborne Ranger

Army Private First Class Willie Gene Gaddy was as tough as they come. The Airborne Ranger served with the 502nd Infantry, 101st Airborne Division during the Vietnam War. Born on November 29, 1949, Gaddy would begin his tour of duty in Vietnam on August 20, 1968. A month later, on September 29, 1968, the young man, who was only eighteen years old, two months shy of his nineteenth birthday,Willie Gene Gaddy would be killed in action in Thua Thien, South Vietnam.

Airborne Ranger Gaddy, is buried in the Liberty Hill Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery in Lamar County. He is also listed on the Vietnam Wall Monument in Washington, D.C. Although Gaddy did not come home alive, a community now honors the Vietnam War soldier. An individual plaque will be installed in Historic Downtown Griffin to honor our Hometown Hero. The plaque is sponsored by Pat and Tommie Lee.