Friday, May 28, 2010

How do we define Courage?

Start with a 19 year old kid. It's November 11, 1967

He’s critically wounded and dying in the jungle somewhere in the Central Highlands of Viet Nam LZ (landing zone) X-ray. His unit is outnumbered 8-1 and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 yards away, that his CO (commanding officer) has ordered the MedEvac helicopters to stop coming in.

He’s lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns and he knows he’s not getting out. His family is half way around the world, 12,000 miles away, and he'll never see them again.

As the world starts to fade in and out, he knows this is the day. Then, suddenly - over the machine gun noise - faintly heard is the sound of a helicopter. He looks 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 to take out the wounded. 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 wounded at a time on board. Then he flies this kid 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 wounded GI’s 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 April 21, 2101 at the age of 70, in Boise , Idaho ..

Where was the Media Report?

Too busy I guess reporting on the important things, like Lindsey Lohen, or Paris Hilton!