War Hero Remembered
War Hero Remembered
The following article was written by KATY MOELLER of the Hattiesburg American:
As Ed “Too Tall” Freeman lay ill in a Boise hospital over the past few weeks, many came to pay their respects to the 80-year-old national war hero and former helicopter pilot.One unexpected visitor offered a very personal thank you to Freeman, a veteran of three wars and recipient of the highest military award – the Medal of Honor – for his actions on Nov. 14, 1965, at Landing Zone X-Ray, Ia Drang Valley, Vietnam.
“A guy came into the hospital and said, ‘You don’t know me, but I was one of those people you hauled out of the X-Ray,’” said Mike Freeman, 54, one of Ed’s two sons. “He said, ‘Thanks for my life.’”
Freeman, who was born and raised in Greene County, Miss., died Wednesday of complications from Parkinson’s disease.
His Medal of Honor citation credits him with helping save 30 seriously wounded soldiers in 14 separate rescue missions in an unarmed helicopter.
The heroics of Freeman and the others involved in the Ia Drang campaign are immortalized in the Mel Gibson movie “We Were Soldiers,” which is based on the book “We Were Soldiers Once … And Young.” A sequel, “We Are Soldiers Still,” was released this month…
Continue reading the full story here
Tags: American Valor, heroes, military, military tribute, veterans
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