Who We Owe - Moment of Silence, Please

[MoreSaltThanPepper]

Ed Freeman

You're a 19 year old kid. You're critically wounded and dying in the jungle in the Ia Drang Valley, 11-14-1965, LZ X-ray, Vietnam. Your infantry unit is outnumbered 8-1, and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 or 200 yards away, that your own Infantry Commander has ordered the Medi-Vac helicopters to stop coming in.

You're lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns, and you know you're not getting out. Your family is half way around the world - 12,000 miles away - and you'll never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day.

Then, over the machine gun noise, you faintly hear that sound of helicopter, and you look up to see an un-armed Huey, but it doesn't seem real, because no Medi-Vac markings are on it.

Ed Freeman is coming for you. He's not Medi-Vac, so it's not his job, but he's flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire, after the Medi-Vacs were ordered not to come.

He's coming anyway.

And he drops it in, and sits there in the machine gun fire, as they load 2 or 3 of you on board.

Then he flies you up and out through the gunfire, to the doctors and nurses.

And, he kept coming back - 13 more times - and took about 30 of you and your buddies out, who would never have gotten out.

Medal of Honor Recipient, Ed Freeman, died last Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 at the age of 80, in Boise, ID. May God rest his soul.

 

[SpyvSpy]

Wow takes balls to do that. God bless.

 

[Fnord5]

 

[Bobtrumpet]

Thanks for posting this.

May he find peace, and may God be with his family.

 

[smokelaw1]

Thank you Mr. Freeman. Rest in peace.


Thank you for posting.

 

[slcsteve]

I salute you again, my brother. A life well lived.

Co.A 9th Aviation Bn
RVN 1967

 

[Confilo]

He was a true hero with lots of cojones.

 

[1OldGI]

A true American warrior and hero. People of such quality are rare in any age and the world is indeed a lesser place when they are gone. My he rest in peace and reap his rightful reward for risking his own life to save so many others.

Just for reference sake for the younger folks, this was the battle depicted in "We Were Soldiers", quite a scuffle indeed.

 

[pmast]

It takes a lot of heart and care for your fellow man to step up to the plate and deliver like that. Thanks for the post.

 

[Monkeydad]

Great story about a great American hero. Thanks for sharing it. God bless his family.

 

[bonusmarple]

wow!

 

[BrewMaster]

Gave me chills to read that. Thanks for posting.

 

[Kratos]

So that others could live...our Viet Nam vets do not get enough respect. Glad to see someone recognizes.

 

[richmondesi]

excellent post. Thank you for this!

 

[jazzman]

There are a few of us humans who just seem to go into a different zone when confronted by such situations. But only a few. I hope that the men he saved, and their children and granchildren, are living full lives. That's the only way such conduct can be repaid.

As pointed out by a few websites, Ed Freeman actually passed away 8/20/08:

"In July 2001, some 36 years after the fact, Freeman, a helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War, had been awarded the nation's highest military honor for actions taken on November 14, 1965. The citation, presented by President Bush in a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, read as follows:

Captain Ed W. Freeman, United States Army, distinguished himself by numerous acts of conspicuous gallantry and extraordinary intrepidity on 14 November, 1965, while serving with Company A, 229th, Assault Helicopter Battalion, First Cavalry Division Air Mobil (ph).

As a flight leader and second in command of a 16-helicopter lift unit, he supported a heavily engaged American infantry battalion at landing zone X-ray in the Idrang Valley, Republic of Vietnam. The infantry unit was almost out of ammunition, after taking some of the heaviest casualties of the war, fighting off a relentless attack from a highly motivated, heavily armed enemy force.

When the infantry commander closed the helicopter landing zone, due to intense direct enemy fire, Captain Freeman risked his own life by flying his unarmed helicopter through a gauntlet of enemy fire, time after time, delivering critically needed ammunition, water and medical supplies to the Paceeds (ph) battalion.

His flights had a direct impact on the battle's outcome by providing the engaged units with timely supplies of ammunition critical to their survival without which they would almost surely have experienced a much greater loss of life. After medical evacuation helicopters refused to fly into the area, due to intense enemy fire, Captain Freeman flew 14 separate rescue missions, providing life- saving evacuation of an estimates 30 seriously wounded soldiers, some of whom would not have survived, had he not acted.

All flights were made into a small emergency landing zone within 100 to 200 meters of the defensive perimeter where heavily committed units were perilously holding off the attacking elements. Captain Freeman's selfless acts of great valor, extraordinary perseverance and intrepidity were far above and beyond the call of duty or mission and set a superb example of leadership and courage for all of his peers.

Captain Freeman's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army."

 

[Ceezer]

/salute

 

[kwk285]

It is because of people like him that I have no patience for those that bad mouth the military.

 

[TimmyBoston]

God Bless Ed Freeman

God Bless America.

 

[TinFish]

Thank you for great posts about a great hero.

 

[Tom C]

Medal of Honor Recipient, Ed Freeman, died last Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 at the age of 80, in Boise, ID.

He actually died August 21, 2008. Just for the record.