I’m sorry to report that the legendary Billy Waugh, who served his nation for over 50. years in US Army Special Forces, and after his military retirement with the Central Intelligence Agency, has passed away at age 93.
Born William D. Waugh, he hailed from Bastrop, Texas and joined the US Army in 1948. Initially serving as a paratrooper with later service in the Korean War, he eventually joined Special Forces and served there until his retirement in 1972 at the rank of Sergeant Major. In 1977 he joined the CIA as an paramilitary operations officer and retired from that gig in 2005.
Consider this; at age 71, he participated in the opening days of Operations Enduring Freedom, deploying as one of the first Americans going into Afghanistan as a member of a CIA team sent there to destroy the Taliban and Al Qaeda at Tora Bora.
But by that point, he was already a legend. In addition to serving in MACV SOG, he was a pioneer of Military Free Fall techniques, having conducted the first HALO combat jump into Vietnam.
Billy Waugh succumbed today to a prolonged illness.
May He Rest In Peace…
We are diminished.
To paraphrase another great American “Thank God such men lived.”
*slow*salute*
Well said.
I hope someone someday will write a book on SGM Waugh.
You know he wrote a book called “hunting the jackal” about himself?
I’m sure he has enough material for someone to write a more comprehensive book about him though.
tcba_joe: No, i did not know…. it`s time for hunting… a book 🙂 Thank You very much!
Rest In Peace.
Rest in peace SGM. A true warrior and patriot.
Rest in peace. It was truly an honor to work with you.
I had the privilege of meeting him and listening to one of his presentations at TREXPO East years ago. RIP SGM.
May he now rest in the peace that he earned. My guess is he will be leading serving in some fashion in Valhalla as well! Well done good and faithful servant.
GOAT. His bravery, skill and longevity are the stuff of
True Legends.
Rest in Peace, SGM Waugh, remarkable American patriot.
I had skydived with Billy at Raeford back in the 90s. Great guy and had a ton of great stories. I didn’t even know of his legendary status until sitting around and having beers with fellow SFA Chapter 44 legends and they relayed his MACV exploits.
I’ll truly will miss not being able to hear his first hand accounts. RIP, Billy.
May he rest in eternal peace!
Does anyone know anything about funeral arrangements? My father knew him during his time in Tampa and I’d love to pass the info along.
SGM BILLY WAUGH. You will NOT be forgotten. Rest Well, Brother.
billy was a great man..he looked after me in country…any idea about funeral arrangements? may be something at BRAGG
Rest easy, SGM Waugh. You defined service. Until the next meeting.
A TRUE SF LEGEND! Very few like him but know throughout the HALO and SF community. God Speed Billy.