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

Name: Ed Willis Freeman
Rank: Captain
Organization: U.S. Army
Unit: Company A, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile)
Place and Date: Landing Zone X-Ray, Ia Drang Valley, Republic of Vietnam – 14 November 1965
Entered Service At: Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Born: November 20, 1927 – Neely, Mississippi
Departed: August 20, 2008
Accredited to: Mississippi

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Summary of Action

At Landing Zone X-Ray, in the heart of the Ia Drang Valley, American infantry were being overrun. Cut off, surrounded, and bleeding from every direction, they were nearly out of ammunition and medical supplies. Enemy fire was so intense that the landing zone was officially closed — no helicopter was allowed in.

But Captain Ed W. Freeman refused to stay out.

As flight leader and second in command of his 16-helicopter lift unit, Freeman took an unarmed Huey and flew straight into the storm. Bullets tore through the air around him on every approach. Each time he lifted off, he knew the next landing might be his last. Still, he made run after run, bringing ammunition, water, and supplies to the battalion that desperately needed them.

When medevac pilots refused to fly into the landing zone — citing the near-certain chance of being shot down — Freeman stepped in once more. Fourteen times he pushed his Huey into a tiny emergency landing area just yards from the fighting, loading the wounded as rounds cracked against his helicopter. Nearly thirty men survived because he would not stop.

Through sheer grit, courage, and an unshakable devotion to his fellow soldiers, Captain Freeman changed the course of the battle — and saved lives that would have been lost.

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Medal of Honor Citation

Rank and organization: Captain, United States Army, Company A, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile).

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty: 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, 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 besieged 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 gone down, with 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 estimated 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.