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Old 03-23-2009, 04:51 PM   #1
aintgotnun
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Default A Hero passes......

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Article Written: Wednesday, March 18, 2009



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 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 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 on 20Aug08 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.












3 WAR Veteran.......

Freeman, a Mississippi native who married an Idahoan, began his military career at 17 with a two-year stint in the Navy during World War II.

"He joined the Navy and hated it. The ocean thing was not his bag," Mike Freeman said.

So he joined the Army, serving four years in Germany before getting deployed to the Korean conflict.


Freeman'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.


Rest in Peace Sir. You deserve it.
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Old 03-23-2009, 06:55 PM   #2
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Thanks for adding this to the forum! As soon as I read it I forwarded it to my Son-in-Law who is a Major in the CT Nat'l Guard. It's too bad nothing was in the news, but I guess that doesn't sell. You're right, Shame on the news media!
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Old 03-23-2009, 11:49 PM   #3
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I am humbled by his service.
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Old 03-24-2009, 03:18 AM   #4
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Man that gave me goose bumps, We have real heroes like him through out the US but all we here about is some over paid sports jock that is the worst person on the world to look up to. The Hospital I work at has a skilled nursing facility and there is a WWII vet there who was a P38 pilot who was shot down over Germany and became a POW for 4 or 5 years. I spend as much time as I can talking to him and tell everyone there that they are in the company of a real hero but most just just don't care, it make me sad.

Thanks for the Post the reminder of what out real heroes endured so that we can have the life we have today.
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Old 03-24-2009, 12:52 PM   #5
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Thanks for posting this. It truly is a shame our media doesn't cover our true heroes.
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Old 03-25-2009, 11:24 AM   #6
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Thanks for posting Greg. I recall seeing a documentary about Capt. Freeman once. He was a "true hero". Only a handful of folks would do what he did. According to what I read he flew these missions for over 14 hours that day. Here's more information on him if someone is interested: http://www.mishalov.com/Freeman.html An interesting man. He was doing all this about the time I was graduating from high school.

Thanks again for posting.

Jim



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Old 03-26-2009, 10:19 AM   #7
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If I recall correctly and it's been awhile since I've read the book both he and MAJ Bruce Crandall whom I believe was his commander as well as other brave pilots did the same thing during that pitched battle.

All are heros.

"We Were Soldiers Once . . . And Young" by Lt. Gen. Hal Moore (USA-Ret.) and Joe Galloway.

This book should be required reading by everyone in our school systems. It details the sacrifices our military makes for our country and each other EVERY day they serve.



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A veteran - whether active duty, national guard, or reserve - is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America', for an amount of 'up to and including my life.'

That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.
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