Medal of Honor: Ed W. Freeman – Vietnam War, November 14, 1965

Ed W. Freeman
Captain (later Major), U.S. Army
Conflict: Vietnam War
Unit: Company A, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile)
Date of Action: November 14, 1965
Location: Landing Zone X-Ray, Ia Drang Valley, Republic of Vietnam

Summary of Action:
In the inferno of Ia Drang, where a battalion of American troops fought for survival against a vastly superior enemy force, one man broke through death’s grip — not once, but again and again.

Captain Ed W. Freeman, already a seasoned helicopter pilot, served as second-in-command of a 16-ship lift unit when the desperate call came in: an American infantry battalion at Landing Zone X-Ray was under siege, surrounded, outgunned, and rapidly running out of ammunition. The LZ had become so dangerous that medevac helicopters refused to enter. Enemy fire raked the sky. The odds were grim.

But Freeman didn’t hesitate.

Flying an unarmed Huey, he defied orders and piloted his bird straight into the storm — through a hail of bullets, into a tiny clearing within 100 to 200 meters of enemy lines. Under fire the entire time, he landed again and again, bringing in life-saving ammunition, water, and medical supplies. And then, when no one else would — he began evacuating the wounded.

Fourteen times, he brought his Huey down through a corridor of fire. Fourteen times, he lifted wounded men off the battlefield who would otherwise have bled to death where they lay. By the end of the day, Freeman had carried approximately 30 men to safety.

Each trip could have been his last — but he kept going. Not for orders. Not for recognition. But because American soldiers needed him. For those who survived Ia Drang, the sight of Freeman’s Huey dropping from the sky was nothing short of salvation.

More than three decades passed before the nation formally recognized what those men already knew: Ed Freeman had earned his place among legends.

Medal of Honor Citation:
*"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, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). 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, and the medical evacuation helicopters refused to fly into the area because of the intense enemy fire.

When the urgent need for a re-supply and evacuation of the wounded was made known, Captain Freeman volunteered to fly his unarmed helicopter through enemy fire to deliver the much needed supplies and evacuate wounded personnel. With complete disregard for his own safety, he made flight after flight delivering the supplies and evacuating the wounded. Captain Freeman flew 14 separate missions that day, providing life-saving evacuation of an estimated 30 seriously wounded soldiers, some of whom would not have survived had he not acted.

His selfless acts of great valor, extraordinary perseverance, and intrepidity were far above and beyond the call of duty or mission, and are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army."*