Command Sgt. Maj. Billy Gene Duncan, 81, of Athens, passed away on June 1, 2015. Billy G. Duncan was a soldier’s soldier. He enlisted in the Army in 1950, one day before he turned 17 and retired 27 years later as Command Sergeant Major, the highest non-commissioned rank in service. He was a member of the all Volunteer “Sky Soldiers” of the famed 173rd Airborne Brigade and served three tours in Vietnam. Seventeen hundred and ninety names on the 173rd Airborne are chiseled in a black granite wall in Washington, D.C. They never surrendered, and they never left anyone behind. Fourteen men received the Congressional Medal of Honor, three recipients were from Duncan’s Company. He was in the battle of Dak To, one of the bloodiest fights during the war. “We had so many dead, we couldn’t find a pair of boots for each dead man” Duncan said. “So we put one boot to a man.” Duncan, who made 2,300 jumps, holds Parachute Wings from U.S., England, France, Norway and Germany. He is the recipient of nine Bronze Stars for heroism and meritorious achievement in a combat zone. He was a founding member of the Alabama Veterans Museum and Archives and sat on the board of directors on two occasions.
Billy Gene Duncan was born March 21, 1934, to the late Jesse James and Grace Haney Duncan in Limestone County.
Bill is survived by his wife, Helen Duncan; sister, Betty Ann Smith, of Athens; daughters, Carma Barksdale and husband, Tim, of Springhill, Tennessee, Debra Porter and husband, Kenny, Jo Clem and husband, Dennis, Julie Moudy, Candace Perry and husband, Russ; and one son, Victor Duncan and his wife, Lorraine, all of Athens; 12 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Services will be held at Spry Funeral Home today, June 3, 2015, at 2 p.m. Visitation will be prior to the service from 11 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. Brother Pat Lawrence, of Berea Baptist Church, will be officiating, burial in Roselawn Cemetery with full military honors.
Discuss
Print
