A little something to think on

[jdt]

Ed Freeman
You're an 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 MediVac 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 1/2 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 a 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 at the age of 80, in Boise , ID .......May God rest his soul.....

I bet you didn't hear about this hero's

passing, but we sure were told a whole

bunch about some Hip-Hop Coward

beating the crap out of his "girlfriend"


Medal of Honor Winner

Ed Freeman!

Shame on the American Media

 

[rickw]

May God bless Ed and his family. We are in great, great need of men and woman of this caliber in this country at this point in time.

As far as the hip hop crowd goes, no comment. My mother had told me if I have nothing good to say I might as well not say it.

 

[richoso1]

What he said.

 

[bigbaldbbq]

God bless Ed! A true american hero!

 

[seenred]

God bless Ed and all the unknown heroes just like him who really make this the country I love. Isn't it a shame that words like "hero" get so overused as to diminish it's meaning when it applies to the real thing.

 

[cman95]

God bless Ed Freeman...he did not half step, he double stepped. Now he is really Home.

 

[tasunkawitko]

outstanding.

 

[tasunkawitko]

More information on this American hero.

Biography
Freeman was born in Neely, Perry County, Mississippi, the sixth of nine children.[1] He grew up in nearby McLain[2] and graduated from Washington High School.[1] He served in World War II[2] and reached the rank of master sergeant by the time of the Korean War. Although he was in the Corps of Engineers, he fought as an infantry soldier in Korea. He participated in the Battle of Pork Chop Hill and received a battlefield commission. The commission made him eligible to become a pilot, a childhood dream of his. However, when he applied for pilot training he was told that, at six feet four inches, he was "too tall" for pilot duty. The phrase stuck, and he was known by the nickname of "Too Tall" for the rest of his career.[3]

In 1955, the height limit for pilots was raised and Freeman was accepted into flying school. He first flew airplanes before switching to helicopters. By the time he was sent to Vietnam in 1965, he was an experienced helicopter pilot and was placed second-in-command of his sixteen-craft unit.[3] He served as a captain in Company A, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile).[4]

On November 14, 1965, Freeman and his unit transported a battalion of American soldiers to the Ia Drang Valley. Later, after arriving back at base, they learned that the soldiers had come under intense fire and had taken heavy casualties. Enemy fire around the landing zones was so heavy that the medical evacuation helicopters refused to enter the area. Freeman and his commander, Major Bruce Crandall, volunteered to fly their unarmed, lightly armored helicopters in support of the embattled troops. Freeman made a total of fourteen trips to the battlefield, bringing in water and ammunition and taking out wounded soldiers.[3]

Freeman was sent home from Vietnam in 1966 and retired from the military the next year.[3] He settled in the Treasure Valley area of Idaho, his wife Barbara's home state,[2] and continued to work as a pilot. He used his helicopter to fight wildfires, perform animal censuses, and herd wild horses for the Department of the Interior[3] until his final retirement in 1991.[1]

Freeman's commanding officer nominated him for the Medal of Honor for his actions at Ia Drang, but not in time to meet a two-year deadline then in place.[3] He was instead awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.[1] The Medal of Honor nomination was disregarded until 1995, when the two-year deadline was removed. He was formally presented with the medal on July 16, 2001, by President George W. Bush.[3]

Freeman died on August 20, 2008 due to complications from Parkinson's disease.[1] He was buried in the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery in Boise.[2]

In the 2002 film We Were Soldiers, which depicted the Battle of Ia Drang, Freeman was portrayed by Mark McCracken.[1] The post office in Freeman's hometown of McLain, Mississippi, was renamed the "Major Ed W. Freeman Post Office" in March 2009.[2]


Medal of Honor citation

Army version of the Medal of HonorFreeman's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

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, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). 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 Ia Drang Valley, Republic of Vietnam. The 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 besieged 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 gone down, with 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 estimated 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.[4]

 

[rivet]

A snappy, Airborne final salute to Ed Freeman. Another great American.





To the media and the hip-hoppers- I have nothing to say.

 

[scrapiron]

To Ed Freeman, Rivet and all others who have served this country I am very grateful for what you have done. Thank you so very much for the service that you gave. There is not a day that goes by that I do not think of and am grateful for you men and women who made this country what it is.

To the media, please be honest and if you are going to tell a story tell the entire story. If you aren't, then do not bother.

 

[travcoman45]

He may now take his place at the table of honor with so many others. He has indeed earned his rest an place there.

A salute.

 

[pignit]

Ed Freeman

American Media

 

[meat hunter]

Man that is really something. A true definition of the meaning, "above and beyond the call of duty." I would have never known about this unless it was posted. I find it so appalling that our major news networks omit things like this in their nightly broadcasts, but find the time and resources to tell us all about the octo-mom, the latest celebrity scandal and other trivial events. I wish more people thought like this man. Went in and picked up wounded soldiers because it was the right thing to do. Because it was the RIGHT, thing to do.....

From a former soldier who served proudly in the 25th ID, I salute you. May you rest in peace.