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Retired Army Maj. Ed Freeman wears his Medal of Honor.
Episode 2739 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about Army Captain Ed Freeman and his Congressional Medal of Honor award. The featured story comes from The U.S. Department of Defense website and was titled: Medal of Honor Monday: Army Captain Ed Freeman. It was submitted by Katie Lange, the outstanding writer for DOD News.
Lange, in her story, reported that Heroes are often people who volunteer for missions they know might be their last. During the Vietnam War, despite having reached retirement age while managing to survive two wars, Army Capt. Ed Freeman volunteered for just such a mission.
Lange added this about Ed Freeman, Freeman was born on Nov. 20, 1927, into a big family who lived on a farm in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He never finished high school. He later said he just wanted to get out of his hometown, so in 1944, he joined the Navy and served on an oiler that provided petroleum to combat ships in the Pacific during World War II.
He went back to finish school after the war ended, then enlisted in the Army, where he served in Korea and received a battlefield commission in 1953.
Freeman’s tour in Korea made him want to be a pilot, so as soon as he returned to the states, he applied for flight school. At first he didn’t qualify because at 6 feet, 4 inches, he was too tall. But he eventually got in and became a pilot. For the next decade, he flew around the world mapping countries, first in fixed-wing aircraft before switching to helicopters.
Freeman was close to retirement when war broke out in Vietnam. He was assigned to the 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, which took part in the Battle of Ia Drang Valley.
Listen to episode 2739 and discover more about Army Captain Ed Freeman and his Congressional Medal of Honor award.
