Ed W. Freeman

When wounded American soldiers were trapped under devastating enemy fire at Landing Zone X-Ray, Captain Ed W. Freeman kept flying back into the battle. Again and again, the unarmed helicopter pilot entered a landing zone so dangerous that normal medical evacuation operations could not reach it. His courage during the Battle of Ia Drang would eventually earn him the Medal of Honor, but recognition of what he had done took more than three decades.

Ed W. Freeman was born on November 20, 1927, in Neely, Mississippi. As a teenager during World War II, he entered the U.S. Navy and served in the Pacific aboard the fleet oiler USS Cacapon (AO-52). After the war he returned home, completed his education, and later enlisted in the U.S. Army. His military career would ultimately span three major American conflicts: World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The Library of Congress Veterans History Project confirms his Navy service aboard USS Cacapon, his later Army service, and his participation in both Pork Chop Hill and Ia Drang.

During the Korean War, Freeman served with the Army Corps of Engineers and fought in the brutal struggle around Pork Chop Hill. His performance in Korea led to a battlefield commission in 1953, transforming an experienced enlisted soldier into an Army officer. That commission also opened the door to a long-held ambition: becoming a military pilot. Freeman applied for flight training after returning to the United States. At 6 feet 4 inches tall, he was initially considered too tall to fly, helping produce the nickname that followed him for the rest of his life, "Too Tall." He eventually qualified as an Army aviator and flew both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters during assignments around the world.

By 1965, Freeman was an experienced Army aviator serving with Company A, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) in Vietnam. On November 14, during the opening day of the Battle of Ia Drang, Captain Freeman served as a flight leader and second-in-command of a 16-helicopter lift unit supporting American troops at Landing Zone X-Ray. The infantry battalion on the ground was heavily engaged, casualties were mounting, and ammunition was running dangerously low. Enemy fire became so intense that the landing zone was closed to normal helicopter traffic. Freeman went in anyway.

Flying an unarmed helicopter through concentrated enemy fire, Freeman repeatedly carried ammunition, water, and medical supplies directly to the surrounded soldiers. His official Medal of Honor citation states that these flights had a direct impact on the outcome of the battle and provided ammunition critical to the survival of the forces on the ground. When medical evacuation helicopters could not enter because of the intensity of the enemy fire, Freeman took on the evacuation mission himself. He flew 14 separate rescue missions, bringing an estimated 30 seriously wounded soldiers out of the battlefield from an emergency landing zone only 100 to 200 meters from the defensive perimeter. The Army citation concluded that his extraordinary heroism, perseverance, leadership, and devotion to duty were far above and beyond the call of duty.

Freeman's actions at Landing Zone X-Ray were originally recognized with the Distinguished Flying Cross. Those who had witnessed the battle believed the action deserved greater recognition, and the effort to reconsider his award continued for decades. On July 16, 2001, President George W. Bush presented Ed Freeman with the Medal of Honor at the White House. Bush described the award as "long in coming" and recalled that the men of the 7th Cavalry had never forgotten what Freeman had done for them at Ia Drang. The formal Medal of Honor citation recognized his conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.

Ia Drang was only one chapter in an exceptional record of military flying and combat service. Contemporary material from the Idaho Military Historical Society and Museum recorded Freeman as the recipient of three Distinguished Flying Crosses, a Bronze Star Medal, a Purple Heart, 15 Air Medals, and the South Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, in addition to his Medal of Honor. His complete service record also reflected campaign and service recognition spanning World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. The three Distinguished Flying Crosses are independently supported by contemporary accounts surrounding his Medal of Honor presentation. His extensive Air Medal record reflected the extraordinary amount of operational flying accumulated during his Army aviation career.

Freeman rose to the rank of Major and retired from the U.S. Army in 1967 after a military career officially described as 23 years of service. Retirement did not end his life in the cockpit. He settled in Idaho and continued flying helicopters for the U.S. Department of the Interior for roughly another two decades, carrying out missions that included wildfire work and other demanding government aviation operations. His achievements as an aviator were further recognized when he was inducted into the Army Aviation Hall of Fame in 2004.

Major Ed W. Freeman died in Boise, Idaho, on August 20, 2008, at the age of 80. He was buried with full military honors at the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery. His legacy remains inseparable from the men trapped at Landing Zone X-Ray and from the image of an unarmed Huey repeatedly descending through enemy fire because wounded soldiers were still waiting below. Freeman's Medal of Honor was presented 36 years after the battle, but the soldiers whose lives depended on those flights had understood their importance from the moment they saw his helicopter returning.