Roy Exum
There is an email floating around that states Mr. Ed Freeman died on January 15, 2015 and this callous world we now live in didn’t give a flip. That’s not true. Mr. Freeman died on August 20, 2008, but I went back and checked and nobody gave much of a flip back then either.
So let’s right a wrong and say goodbye to one of America’s greatest heroes, because it is never too late to tell a man how much we love him. Born in Green County at the bottom of Mississippi, Mr. Freeman was a student at McClain High School when, the minute he turned 17, he hurried off to World War II.
He tagged on with the Navy, serving two years on the USS Cacapon, and then returned, finished high school and joined the Army. By the time the Korean War broke out, he was a first sergeant and, in the Battle of Pork Chop Hill, Mr. Freeman was among 14 survivors out of 257 men. General James Van Fleet insisted he affix Mr. Freeman’s lieutenant bars after he gave him a battlefield commission and then Mr. Freeman led B Company right back up the hill. Mr. Freeman wasn’t one to flinch.
Because he was then an officer, he could request pilot training but, at 6-feet-4, he was “Too Tall,” a nickname that he carried the rest of his life. The restrictions were eased in 1955 and he flew fixed-wing aircraft before graduating into helicopters. And this is where the story gets good.
On November 14, 1965, some of the most intense fighting in Viet Nam took place in the Central Highlands are it got so bad in the Ia Drang Valley that med-vac choppers couldn’t go in to get our wounded. So Mr. Freeman jumped into an unarmed Huey and went instead.
Let’s look at the jacket on his Congressional Medal of Honor folder, which reads in part:
“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.”
You saw that, didn’t you? Not once…14 times he flew into hell in an unarmed helicopter. He would bring our wounded boys out and take ammo, water and whatever they needed to survive when he flew back in. Don’t you reckon he gave that Huey the gas, carrying our wounded back to the base? Somewhere, right now, there are still mothers of boys whose lives he saved. Their children too. That’s who Mr. Freeman was.
In the movie, “We Were Soldiers,” actor Mark McCracken portrays Mr. Freeman and while he lived in Idaho – his wife’s home – the post office in McLain, Miss., is the “Major Ed W. Freeman Post Office.” He was presented the Medal of Honor by President George W. Bush and, in 2001, was inducted into the “Hall of Heroes” at the Pentagon.
On August 20, 2008, Mr. Freeman died at the age of 80 due to complications from Parkinson’s disease. So while the email circling around purports this nation no longer cares for its greatest heroes, that’s just not true, nor will it ever be as long as I have just one finger and a keyboard.
royexum@aol.com