The United States government was still calling the
involvement of U.S. military personnel in Viet Nam a "police action,"
but from the intensity of the fighting in the la Drang Valley that day of
November 14, 1965, it certainly looked like a war. Especially to the battalion of American soldiers pinned down
by so much enemy fire that the medical evacuation helicopters refused to fly to
their aid. Without supplies and
the evacuation of the many wounded, the Americans stood the chance of being
completely wiped out.
At
that point, helicopter pilot Ed Freeman and his commander Bruce Crandall
together decided to volunteer to fly their unarmed Hueys into Landing Zone
X-Ray, a mere hundred meters or so from the perimeter of the fighting. Time after time the two men flew
directly through enemy gunfire to the imperiled American soldiers. They brought water, ammunition, and medical
supplies, and returned with the severely wounded. From the time the medical evacuation was halted, Freeman and
Crandall made fourteen more trips into the beleaguered zone. Many on hand that day were quick to say
that the entire unit might have been eliminated if not for the heroics of those
two men, and the thirty wounded soldiers rescued that day most certainly would
have perished.
Freeman
and Crandall were considered crazy for flying again and again directly into the
face of overwhelming enemy fire.
But, like true Rascals, they did it anyway for the sake of their
brothers in arms. Men were
counting on them and they refused to let them down, no matter the risk to them
personally. In the service of
others they risked it all. For
their uncommon valor, extraordinary heroism, and dedication to duty, Freeman
and Crandall were awarded the U.S. military's highest recognition, the Medal of
Honor.
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