Captain Ed W. Freeman: U.S. Army Officer
Lying there, you listen to the enemy machine guns, and you realize you are not getting out. Your family is half-way around the world, 12,000 miles away, and you will never get to see them again. As the pain and the world begins to fade in and out, and you know this is your final day.
Then, beyond the machine gun noises, you hear the sound of a helicopter! You struggle to open your eyes and just above the trees, you see an unarmed Huey. But, it can't be real because there are no MediVac insignias on the helicopter.
Ed Freeman is coming for you! He's not MediVac, but here he is, lowering the Huey through the machine gun fire. The MediVacs were ordered to stay away, but he's coming anyway!
The helicopter is on the ground, sitting there in the midst of machine gun fire and racing bullets, as they load two or three of you on board. Steadily and surely, he flies you out of the relentless gunfire. And, he kept coming back; Fourteen more times! Ed Freeman took about 30 of you and your buddies away from certain death.
Captain Freeman flew his helicopter through the gunfire at least 21 times to bring water, supplies and ammunition that saved many of the lives on ground. This same pilot flew more than 70 soldiers to safety.
For his actions, on that day, Captain Ed Freeman was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. However, Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Crandall, and the men who were there believed Captain Freeman deserved a higher honor.
He was flight leader and second in command for a 16-helicopter lift unit that supported a heavily engaged American infantry battalion at Landing Zone X-Ray, in the Ia Drang Valley, Republic of Vietnam.
When the infantry commander closed the landing zone due to intense direct enemy fire, Captain Freeman risked his own life, and flew his unarmed helicopter through enemy fire, time after time.
Captain Ed W. Freeman, United States Army, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry, extraordinary intrepidity on November 14, 1965, while serving with Company A, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, First Calvary Division (Airmobile).
Captain Ed W. Freeman, Medal of Honor recipient, died at the age of 80, in Boise, Idaho, on August 20, 2008.
Published by Jessie Penn
Hailing from Pennsylvania, I've lived in several U.S. states because of my involvement with the Department of Defense. Some of my websites: http://www.greensmokereview.net (electronic cigarettes), http:... View profile
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3 Comments
Post a CommentI was reading up on Mr. Freeman. I've been writing stories for our local newspaper on veterans who went above and beyond the call of duty. It was nice to read this story on Yahoo by you! Cheers ;)
Thank you Shelly! Certainly, there are many heroic stories that remain unsung. I will look up Desmond Doss.
Wow, I love stories like this. Great job. I did an article awhile back on a man named Desmond T. Doss, you should look him up, if you haven't heard of him. His actions during WWII in Japan remind me very much of Captain Freeman. Different war, different scenario, same brave and selfless behavior.