Chief Warrant Officer 4 (CW4) Billy Joe Fulbright, United States Army (Deceased), from Lonoke, Arkansas, was inducted into the United States Army Aviation Hall of Fame at Fort Rucker, Alabama, in 2001 in recognition of his distinguished contributions to Army aviation. CW4 Fulbright made significant impacts on Army Aviation during the 1950s and 1960s.

CW4 Fulbright's journey reflects determination and persistence in overcoming obstacles to achieve his dream of becoming an Army Aviator. Orphaned at age five following the death of his father and subsequent adoption by a farm family from Lonoke, Arkansas, he faced a challenging upbringing. At the age of 15, he ran away from home to join the war effort in 1944. Being underage, he falsified his age to enlist, resulting in two different dates of birth appearing in his Army Personnel File, with his actual date of birth being November 18, 1928.

Fulbright had a passion for flying; however, color blindness disqualified him initially. After 9 ½ years of enlisted service (1944-1954), he obtained a civilian pilot license. In 1954, he reenlisted in the Army through a new program that granted warrant officer commissions to individuals with civilian pilot licenses. Using his ingenuity, he memorized clues to the colorblind exam chart to pass the aviation flight physical, allowing him to enter the Army Aviation Warrant Officer Commissioning Program. He graduated from one of the early warrant officer candidate classes at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

Following his flight training in 1954, Fulbright became an instructor pilot at the H-21 (Shawnee helicopter) transition school at Fort Riley, Kansas, where he trained the core group of Army Aviators sent to Vietnam in 1961-62. These units were integral in proving the Airmobile Concept. Later, as a Standardization Instructor Pilot in the 8th Transportation Company in Vietnam, he trained replacement pilots in combat missions and actively participated in helicopter medevac and fixed-wing reconnaissance flights.

In 1963, Fulbright played a key role in creating a CV-2 (Caribou) Transition Course at Fort Benning, Georgia, and transitioned pilots for the 11th Air Assault Division (Test). When this division was reflagged as the 1st Cavalry Division in 1965, it deployed to Vietnam to test the airmobile concept's feasibility.

In 1967, Fulbright was chosen for Navy P-2V (Neptune) patrol bomber training. He oversaw the preparation of six P-2Vs with top-secret radio research equipment and served as the Standardization Instructor Pilot for the newly formed 1st Aviation Radio Research Company. Deploying to Vietnam again, he trained pilots for extended missions crucial to gathering enemy intelligence, directly contributing to the success of Army Aviation operations in Vietnam.

Afterward, stationed in Hawaii as an instrument flight examiner and U-21 (Ute) instructor pilot, Fulbright attended the first Aviation Warrant Officer Advanced Career Course. He was later assigned to the Federal Aviation Agency as the Army Aviation Coordinator for five southwestern states until his retirement.

This esteemed master Army aviator retired in 1975 after over 30 years of service, accumulating more than 8,700 flight hours, including 1,250 combat hours, and was awarded the Air Medal with 30 Oak Leaf Clusters. Qualified in 25 aircraft types, CW4 Fulbright distinguished himself as a pioneer in Army Aviation from 1954 to his retirement in 1975.