Analysis: From the closing sentences above, one could come away with the impression that the courageous life and quiet death of retired Army Captain and Medal of Honor recipient Ed W. Freeman had been completely ignored by the media. Not so, as the partial list of news sources further down this page shows. It may not have made front-page news, but Freeman's passing on August 20, 2008 was commemorated in a special segment on the NBC Nightly News, an AP national wire story, and obituaries published in newspapers across the country.

As stated in the email, in 2001 Freeman was awarded the nation's highest military honor some 36 years after the fact for his heroic actions as a Vietnam War helicopter pilot on November 14, 1965. He was presented with a citation by President George W. Bush which read as follows:

_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, First Cavalry Division Air Mobil.

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 Idrang Valley, Republic of Vietnam. The infantry 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 Paceeds (ph) 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 experienced a 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 estimates 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._
Barbara Ennis Connolly PRINCESSBARBI_B25@msn.com WWII Historical Researcher, especially the 57th Bomb Wing and Historian for the 319th and 321st Bomb Groups, WWII B-25 Mitchells, MTO.

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 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. You're 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.
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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!
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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.
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Medal of Honor Recipient, Captain Ed Freeman, United States Air Force, died last Wednesday at the age of 70 in Boise, Idaho. (July/Aug. 2008)

Ed W Freeman