Ralph May ‘Buck’ Wilkerson

June 24, 1932 – July 24, 2025

Ralph May “Buck” Wilkerson, 93, peacefully passed away at Spirit Mountain Hospice in Cody on July 24, 2025, after a courageous battle with complications from a broken leg.

Buck was born June 24, 1932, on his kitchen table in Lovell to Ralph and Gladys May Wilkerson. At age 17 he joined the United States Army and served in combat in an Armored Field Artillery battalion in the Korean War. Buck remained in the Army for 26 years, most of which was spent in the U.S. Army Special Forces, commonly known as the Green Berets, where he served multiple assignments in Vietnam and numerous other countries. 

During the Vietnam War, Buck served in an elite, highly classified Special Operations unit called MACV-SOG, where he lived with the indigenous people and specialized in secret insertions into North Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and other countries. The existence of MACV-SOG and the missions they ran was not declassified until decades later. As a result, although they incurred one of the highest casualty rates in the United States military, their exploits were generally unrecognized. 

Nonetheless, Buck was awarded two Bronze Stars for heroism in combat, two Purple Hearts for being wounded in combat and numerous other citations. But the medal he was most proud of was the Soldier’s Medal, which was awarded to him by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1959. This little known and rarely awarded medal is the highest medal awarded for heroism in a non-combat situation and is second in hierarchy only to the Medal of Honor. Buck always led from the front. In his words, this meant that he told his men to “follow me,” as opposed to “go get ‘em.” Buck never tasked his soldiers to do anything that he wouldn’t do himself.

Buck was based for seven years in Baumholder, Germany, where he met the love of his live, Shirley Ann Swota, of Richfield Springs, New York. Shirley had just arrived to serve as an English teacher on the Army base. Buck knew from the day he saw her step off the airplane that he would marry her. Sure enough, on August 14, 1960, they were married in a very formal and beautiful full military wedding – crossed sabers and all – with all of the officers of the 16^th Rangers participating. They remained together for 61 years, until Shirley passed away on June 11, 2021.

In 1974, after 26 years active duty in the Army, Buck retired as a lieutenant colonel. He and Shirley settled in Cody, where they raised their family and remained for the rest of their lives. Buck worked for the next 30 years as a real estate agent and broker and also began a consulting company that specialized in funding, mergers and acquisitions, particularly in the oil industry.

Buck was an avid outdoorsman and spent as much time as possible fishing, hunting and enjoying the outdoors in any manner. He always put family first and spent the majority of his time with his children and extended family. Buck created a legacy of love for the outdoors that will continue for generations.

Buck was strong-hearted and devoutly honest and always conducted himself with the utmost integrity. Buck gave a great deal of his time to others. For many years he served on the Ducks Unlimited committee and served as its president. He was also a member of the Cody Elks and Lions Clubs and volunteered for several years at the Buffalo Bill Dam Visitors Center. He continued serving and supporting his beloved Green Beret Special Forces community for many years by being very active in the Special Forces Association Wyoming Cowboy Chapter and helped organize and conduct numerous events in Cody with the Special Operations Warrior Foundation for veterans and families of Special Operations Soldiers killed in action.

Buck was especially proud of the Wyoming State Veterans Memorial Park, which he and Bob Davidson created in Cody. This project began when friend and local Korean War veteran Paul Rodriquez came up with the idea to build a Korean War Memorial in Cody, and it quickly grew into much more. With help from Paul and many others, Buck and Bob dedicated a great deal of their lives to developing this park, from acquiring the land next to the then-existing Vietnam Memorial to burying the canal that ran through it and personally borrowing the funds to do so, developing the site and convincing Governor Dave Freudenthal to designate it as the Wyoming State Veterans Memorial. Over the next 11 years, they raised all necessary funds, designed all of the monuments, prepared the grounds and took all other actions necessary to create this incredible memorial park and its many monuments.

Buck was preceded in death by his wife, Shirley Ann Wilkerson; parents; brothers Gene Wilkerson and Fred Wilkerson; sisters La Rose Wilkerson, Gladys Mae Wilkerson, Mary Jane Wilkerson and Helen Carlson Cummins; and son Stephen Michael Wilkerson. 

He is survived by his brother Frank Wilkerson; sister Lucy Parkinson; daughter Sue Keating of Salt Lake City, Utah; son Woody (Jennifer) Wilkerson of Cody; grandchildren Sarah (Grant) Hammon, Roger Keating, Ella Wilkerson and Emma Wilkerson; and two great-grandchildren; as well as numerous nephews and nieces.

A funeral ceremony will be celebrated on Friday, August 1, at 10 a.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Cody with Bishop Glenn Nielson presiding. The Rite of Committal will immediately follow at Riverside Cemetery in Cody.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, Cody High School Drama Club or a charity of choice.

Memories and condolences can be shared on Buck’s memory page at www.BallardFH.com.