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Thread: An American Hero

  1. #1
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    An American Hero

    The story is true, the timing may be a little late.

    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's passing, but we've sure seen a whole bunch about Lindsay Lohan, Tiger Woods and the bickering of congress over Health Reform.

    Medal of Honor Winner Captain Ed Freeman
    Shame on the American media !!!

    Now... YOU pass this along to YOUR
    mailing list. Honor this real American.

    Please.
    Larry K. Cole
    U.S. Army Retired
    Real Estate Appraiser

    Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD. Psalm 33:12

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  3. #2
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    Thanks for the reminder and notice Larry...

    I too was the recipient of this sort of heroism when medevac and other chopper pilots came through a hail of gunfire, mortar rounds, and other obstacles to get my unit off the top of a lonely, about to be overrun fire support base. The medics and pilots risked their lives to evacuate us all, and then there were the pilots that carried the command and staff officers who were left behind to check to make sure everyone was off the top of that hill.

    Guts like that are rare. I have even had the opportunity to personally meet and thank a few of the medics who took care of us as we piled onto their aircraft. It was a bloody mess, but they all were totally dedicated to getting us all of there alive... and they did it.

    And they did it only a few times... To do it over and over again is what true dedication is all about. And I learned that true bravery is not saying "I am not afraid" but being afraid and doing what is needed regardless of the fear and risk.

    Nowadays the term "hero" is widely and loosely used to describe a lot of people... In the case of Cpt. Freeman, the term is almost an understatement.
    If you do not read the news you are uninformed. If you do you are misinformed. Mark Twain


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  5. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by sojourner truth View Post
    This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
    Thanks for the reminder and notice Larry...

    I too was the recipient of this sort of heroism when medevac and other chopper pilots came through a hail of gunfire, mortar rounds, and other obstacles to get my unit off the top of a lonely, about to be overrun fire support base. The medics and pilots risked their lives to evacuate us all, and then there were the pilots that carried the command and staff officers who were left behind to check to make sure everyone was off the top of that hill.

    Guts like that are rare. I have even had the opportunity to personally meet and thank a few of the medics who took care of us as we piled onto their aircraft. It was a bloody mess, but they all were totally dedicated to getting us all of there alive... and they did it.

    And they did it only a few times... To do it over and over again is what true dedication is all about. And I learned that true bravery is not saying "I am not afraid" but being afraid and doing what is needed regardless of the fear and risk.

    Nowadays the term "hero" is widely and loosely used to describe a lot of people... In the case of Cpt. Freeman, the term is almost an understatement.
    yeow.....i, too, was medevaced out of a hot LZ by an unknown (to me) medevac pilot after 3 wave offs........there's no doubt that I owe my life to him......mac
    Live as if you were living a second time, and as though you had acted wrongly the first time.

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  7. #4
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    My local medevac hero is Ottis Evans. He was awarded a Silver Star for one of his actions. Ottie and I serviced together on the Killeen Council.
    Larry K. Cole
    U.S. Army Retired
    Real Estate Appraiser

    Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD. Psalm 33:12

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