I am betting that no one has heard of this man & thats a shame. I know that I didnt until now
Courage......
You're a 19 year old kid.
You're critically wounded and dying in the jungle somewhere in the Central Highlands of Viet Nam.
It's November 11, 1967.
LZ (landing zone) X-ray.
Your unit is outnumbered 8-1 and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 yards away, that your CO (commanding officer) has ordered the MedEvac 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.
You look up to see a Huey coming in. But ... It doesn't seem real because no MedEvac markings are on it.
Captain Ed Freeman is coming in for you.
He's not MedEvac so it's not his job, but he heard the radio call and decided he's flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire anyway.
Even after the MedEvacs 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 3 of you at a time on board.
Then he flies you up and out through the gunfire to the doctors and nurses and safety.
And, he kept coming back!! 13 more times!!
Until all the wounded were out. No one knew until the mission was over that the Captain had been hit 4 times in the legs and left arm.
He took 29 of you and your buddies out that day. Some would not have made it without the Captain and his Huey.
Medal of Honor Recipient, Captain Ed Freeman, United States Air Force, died last Wednesday at the age of 70, in Boise, Idaho...
May God Bless and Rest His Soul.
I bet you didn't hear about this hero'spassing, but we've sure seen a whole bunch about Michael Jackson, Hollywood elites and the bickering of congress over Health Reform.
Shame on the American media !!!
Now ... Please pass this along to YOUR
mailing list & Honor this real American.
Actually he lived to 80 and died in 2008. There were a couple of good reports on his service at the time, but certainly not as many as he deserved. Here's a good spot from NBC Nightly News on his passing.
http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nightly-news/26336240#52240543 (http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nightly-news/26336240#52240543)
I salute you, Capt. Ed Freeman!! A hero many times over. :smiley-patriotic-flagwaver-an
Quote from: Rapscallion Vermilion on June 18, 2013, 11:29:22 AM
Actually he lived to 80 and died in 2008. There were a couple of good reports on his service at the time, but certainly not as many as he deserved. Here's a good spot from NBC Nightly News on his passing.
http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nightly-news/26336240#52240543 (http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nightly-news/26336240#52240543)
My apologies on the dates/age provided. This was just sent to me from a coworker so I took it as factual. Thank you for correcting my errors Rapscallion Vermilion....
Quote from: Hognutz on June 18, 2013, 11:31:11 AM
I salute you, Capt. Ed Freeman!! A hero many times over. :smiley-patriotic-flagwaver-an
:smiley-patriotic-flagwaver-an Thank You Captain Freeman!
Actually, I am very familiar with his heroism. I'm a huge supporter of our military, and have been a military buff since I was a little kid. I read books, watch documentaries and movies, do online research and have many friends and family that are active duty or veterans.
One of my favorite websites is the Congressional Medal of Honor website. Reading about what some of these guys did to earn the CMH is chilling. Outstanding courage and leadership!! :smiley-patriotic-flagwaver-an
http://www.cmohs.org/ (http://www.cmohs.org/)
Here is the link to Cap't Freeman's CMH award. :smiley-patriotic-flagwaver-an
http://www.cmohs.org/recipient-detail/3286/freeman-ed-w.php (http://www.cmohs.org/recipient-detail/3286/freeman-ed-w.php)
The term hero is slung around these days with so little regard for what a hero truly is...The athlete who recently "came out" publicly was called a hero by our Commander In Chief...
Ed Freeman was a true hero in every sense of the word...Thanks for reminding us of his heroism. It's right that he should be remembered and honored...
:smiley-patriotic-flagwaver-an
Quote from: Hognutz on June 18, 2013, 11:31:11 AM
I salute you, Capt. Ed Freeman!! A hero many times over. :smiley-patriotic-flagwaver-an
Amen to that.