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Post by adart on Apr 15, 2010 5:06:57 GMT 9
Medal of Honor Recipient Captain Ed Freeman USAF died last Wednesday at the age of 70. May God Bless... :us_flag
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Post by adart on Apr 15, 2010 5:34:25 GMT 9
Lets not forget him from 2 years past.. :us_flag
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Post by Gene on Apr 15, 2010 9:08:18 GMT 9
By the time the Korean War broke out, Ed Freeman was a master sergeant in the Army Engineers, but he fought in Korea as an infantryman. He took part in the bloody battle of Pork Chop Hill and was given a battlefield commission, which had the added advantage of making him eligible to fly, a dream of his since childhood. But flight school turned him down because of his height: At six foot four, he was “too tall” (a nickname that followed him throughout his military career). In 1955, however, the height limit was raised, and Freeman was able to enroll. He began flying fixed-wing aircraft, then switched to helicopters. By 1965, when he was sent to Vietnam, he had thousands of hours’ flying time in choppers. He was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), second in command of a sixteen-helicopter unit responsible for carrying infantrymen into battle. On November 14, 1965, Freeman’s helicopters carried a battalion into the Ia Drang Valley for what became the first major confrontation between large forces of the American and North Vietnamese armies. Back at base, Freeman and the other pilots received word that the GIs they had dropped off were taking heavy casualties and running low on supplies. In fact, the fighting was so fierce that medevac helicopters refused to pick up the wounded. When the commander of the helicopter unit asked for volunteers to fly into the battle zone, Freeman alone stepped forward. He was joined by his commander, and the two of them began several hours of flights into the contested area. Because their small emergency-landing zone was just one hundred yards away from the heaviest fighting, their unarmed and lightly armored helicopters took several hits. In all, Freeman carried out fourteen separate rescue missions, bringing in water and ammunition to the besieged soldiers and taking back dozens of wounded, some of whom wouldn’t have survived if they hadn’t been evacuated. Freeman left Vietnam in 1966 and retired from the Army the following year. He flew helicopters another twenty years for the Department of the Interior, herding wild horses, fighting fires, and performing animal censuses. Then he retired altogether. In the aftermath of the Ia Drang battle, his commanding officer, wanting to recognize Freeman’s valor, proposed him for the Medal of Honor. But the two-year statute of limitations on these kinds of recommendations had passed, and no action was taken. Congress did away with that statute in 1995, and Freeman was finally awarded the medal by President George W. Bush on July 16, 2001. Freeman was back at the White House a few months later for the premiere of We Were Soldiers, a 2002 feature film that depicted his role in the Ia Drang battle. As he was filing out of the small White House theater, the president approached him, saluted, and shook his hand. “Good job, Too Tall,” he said. dailynightly.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/07/11/265756.aspx :salute :salute :salute  |
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Post by Jim Scanlon (deceased) on Sept 6, 2010 3:59:23 GMT 9
:us_flag :salute :us_flag
This story is in to-day's Minot Daily News
Medal of Honor to be awarded to Vietnam War hero
POSTED: September 5, 2010 Email: "Medal of Honor to be awarded to Vietnam War hero"
A man stationed in North Dakota who died while serving in the Vietnam War will receive the Medal of Honor more than 40 years after his death.
The White House announced the Medal of Honor will be awarded posthumously to Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Richard Etchberger on Sept. 21, according to a news release from Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D.
The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force which can be given to an individual serving in the U.S. military.
Etchberger, a native of Hamburg, Pa., was stationed in Bismarck before being deployed for duty in the Vietnam War.
"Chief Master Sergeant Etchberger fought and died heroically, and saved the lives of many of his fellow men," said Pomeroy. "The Medal of Honor is reserved for extraordinary acts of valor in combat, and Chief Etchberger's actions were the very definition of such extraordinary valor."
Etchberger and his fellow men were stationed at Phou Pha Thi, known as Lima Site 85, which was a secret radar base in the neutral country of Laos. From the base, Etchberger and his fellow men were able to pinpoint hundreds of bombing targets in North Vietnam for the U.S. military. On March 11, 1968, North Vietmanese commandos stormed the radar station, and Etchberger led several men to a ledge where they fought off the Vietnamese commandos and awaited helicopter rescue. Etchberger deliberately exposed himself to enemy fire in order to place his three surviving wounded comrades in rescue slings, saving their lives, but was fatally shot in the helicopter as it carried him and his fellow men away.
Etchberger was nominated for the Medal of Honor but was denied by President Lyndon Johnson for fear it would embarrass the United States and bring attention to their illegal radar station in neutral territory. Etchberger was instead awarded the Air Force Cross, the military's second highest honor.
Friends of Etchberger's family contacted Pomeroy's office in 2004, seeking assistance to have Etchberger's Air Force Cross upgraded to the Medal of Honor. Pomeroy worked to include language in the 2009 National Defense Authorization Act to waive the statute of limitations on awarding a Medal of Honor for Etchberger. President Bush signed the bill into law.
"Chief Etchberger was denied the Medal of Honor because he was serving his country on the wrong side of a geographic barrier. Heroism knows no boundary," Pomeroy said.
"While it's regrettable that this medal is coming 40 years after Mr. Etchberger's death, I am honored to be part of the effort that recognized this true hero, he said.
Etchberger's sons, Cory Etchberger, Richard Etchberger and Steve Wilson, will join the president at the White House Sept. 21 for the ceremony.
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Jim Scanlon (deceased)
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Post by Jim Scanlon (deceased) on Sept 11, 2010 12:27:06 GMT 9
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Post by Jim on Dec 22, 2010 1:11:30 GMT 9
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Post by Jim on Mar 13, 2011 3:51:26 GMT 9
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Jim Scanlon (deceased)
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Post by Jim Scanlon (deceased) on Mar 13, 2011 5:40:49 GMT 9
WOW!
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Post by Tom Dlugosh on Mar 14, 2011 3:21:50 GMT 9
WOW! is right.
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Post by jeep3 on Mar 14, 2011 3:37:39 GMT 9
unbelievable and double WOW! :salute :god_bless_usa
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Post by Jim on Mar 14, 2011 7:08:44 GMT 9
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Post by Jim on Apr 19, 2012 12:30:45 GMT 9
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2012 13:38:52 GMT 9
read about it just a little while ago. A true hero.
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Post by Jim on Apr 20, 2012 1:23:30 GMT 9
read about it just a little while ago. A true hero. I was referring to all of the disrespect given to the receipient and his family.... As I have noted in other posts, the *jerk* WHAT AM IN CHARGE lacks the dignity AND sincerity the ceremony deserves.... I was always taught that the person being decorated or wearing the medal was ALWAYS the receipient of the hand salute, REGARDLESS of anyone's rank.....Took the Marines 2 years to teach him to render an acceptable hand salute when he returns a salute when getting off the plane..... S,ICSTSOB |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 20, 2012 2:36:18 GMT 9
We've grown to expect the disgusting, vile, disrespectful and improper treatment of any situation from the mutton head in the WH. Sorry to all the lambs of the world.
It certainly appears that the main ahic (ass hole in charge) is trying to gain some brownie points by doing stuff like this. He's got to be feeling some heat, or his handlers are telling him he's got to pull some positive PR.
People see his crap, we just need to hope that they remember it on election day and get this venereal disease open sore out before he infects us all.
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Jim Scanlon (deceased)
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Post by Jim Scanlon (deceased) on Nov 1, 2013 2:11:23 GMT 9
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Post by Gene on Nov 1, 2013 2:57:09 GMT 9
I concur with that statement...
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Post by Gene on Nov 1, 2013 3:27:59 GMT 9
this is an interesting story www.army.mil/asianpacificsoldiers/moh/ww2/calugas.htmtype in calugas in the search window my dad died in 2005, a 30 year man. retired as an e-8. he is buried in the local cemetery. I go there frequently to tend his grave. while im there I walk around for exercise and to read the grave markers. this MOH winner is buried across the field from my dad. the marker indicated he was a MOH recipient. and there was another marker indicating the death march... unfortunately the marker was almost completely covered over by the lawn. long forgotten. I had some spare time in those days. it was just before my shoulder surgery. I cleaned it up. trimmed the grass and gave the two markers a little border... I couldn't see letting it go unattended. his wife is buried next to him... I guess the kids have moved away... |
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Post by Jim on Nov 1, 2013 6:02:55 GMT 9
this is an interesting story www.army.mil/asianpacificsoldiers/moh/ww2/calugas.htmtype in calugas in the search window my dad died in 2005, a 30 year man. retired as an e-8. he is buried in the local cemetery. I go there frequently to tend his grave. while im there I walk around for exercise and to read the grave markers. this MOH winner is buried across the field from my dad. the marker indicated he was a MOH recipient. and there was another marker indicating the death march... unfortunately the marker was almost completely covered over by the lawn. long forgotten. I had some spare time in those days. it was just before my shoulder surgery. I cleaned it up. trimmed the grass and gave the two markers a little border... I couldn't see letting it go unattended. his wife is buried next to him... I guess the kids have moved away... THANKS, Gene and a snappy salute for your display of respect  |
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Post by MOW on Nov 1, 2013 6:44:53 GMT 9
this is an interesting story www.army.mil/asianpacificsoldiers/moh/ww2/calugas.htmtype in calugas in the search window my dad died in 2005, a 30 year man. retired as an e-8. he is buried in the local cemetery. I go there frequently to tend his grave. while im there I walk around for exercise and to read the grave markers. this MOH winner is buried across the field from my dad. the marker indicated he was a MOH recipient. and there was another marker indicating the death march... unfortunately the marker was almost completely covered over by the lawn. long forgotten. I had some spare time in those days. it was just before my shoulder surgery. I cleaned it up. trimmed the grass and gave the two markers a little border... I couldn't see letting it go unattended. his wife is buried next to him... I guess the kids have moved away...   |
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