Aug 10 , 2025

Ed Freeman: Into the Fire, Time and Again Ia Drang Valley, Vietnam — November 14, 1965.

Ed Freeman: Into the Fire, Time and Again

Ia Drang Valley, Vietnam — November 14, 1965.

The jungle was alive with death. Bullets stitched the humid air. Grenades tore the ground to pieces. Somewhere in that hell, American warriors were bleeding out—slowly and surely.

One man refused to accept that fate: Captain Ed “Too Tall” Freeman, 1st Cavalry Division helicopter pilot.

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The Mission No One Should Survive

Fourteen trips.
Into the teeth of enemy fire.

Freeman’s task: retrieve the wounded pinned down in a battlefield laced with mortars and machine guns. Terrain swallowed men whole. Fire came from every direction. Still, he flew—again and again—into the kill zone.

He landed under direct fire, loaded the wounded, and clawed back into the sky—over and over—until the job was done.

Official records credit Freeman with 14 separate rescue missions, evacuating an estimated 30 seriously wounded soldiers during the fight at Landing Zone X-Ray. Congressional Medal of Honor Society

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Courage With No Script

Each landing meant staring death in the eye.
Each takeoff, a race against a wall of lead.

Freeman didn’t flinch. He didn’t hesitate. He flew his machine—and his soul—through inferno after inferno until the last man he could lift was out of the valley.

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Medal of Honor—What the Record Says

For that day’s valor, Ed W. Freeman received the Medal of Honor.
Presentation: July 16, 2001, The White House, East Room — by President George W. Bush. Congressional Medal of Honor SocietyGeorge W. Bush White House Archives

“Conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.” — Medal of Honor Citation Congressional Medal of Honor Society

(Note: Some popular accounts blur numbers from related flights in the battle; the Medal of Honor Society record above is the authoritative source.)

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“I Just Did My Job”

Freeman stayed humble. He often said the men he picked up were the heroes. But make no mistake—without his flights, many more would have died on that brutal field where medics were overwhelmed and evacuation seemed impossible. U.S. Department of Defense

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Why Ed Freeman Still Matters

• Duty over fear: Courage isn’t the absence of fear; it’s action in spite of it.

• No man left behind: He redefined what a pilot could be—a lifeline under fire.

• The first major clash: Ia Drang was the U.S. Army’s brutal baptism in Vietnam; Freeman’s flights bent the odds toward survival. U.S. Department of DefenseThis Day in Aviation

“Greater love hath no man than this…” — John 15:13
The line between life and death is razor-thin in battle. Freeman sharpened that line with his will to save.

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Key Facts (Skimmable)

• Unit: Co. A, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). Congressional Medal of Honor Society

• Action: 14 rescue missions at LZ X-Ray, Ia Drang (Nov. 14, 1965). Congressional Medal of Honor Society

• Evacuations: ~30 seriously wounded soldiers. Congressional Medal of Honor Society

• Medal of Honor Presentation: July 16, 2001, by President George W. Bush. Congressional Medal of Honor SocietyGeorge W. Bush White House Archives

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Legacy

When we speak of heroes, think of Ed Freeman—flying hope into a storm no one else would enter. He didn’t just move helicopters. He moved the line between life and death for his brothers.

We owe him remembrance.

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Sources

• Congressional Medal of Honor Society — Ed W. Freeman record & citation. Congressional Medal of Honor Society

• The White House Archives — Medal of Honor presentation, July 16, 2001. George W. Bush White House Archives

• U.S. Department of Defense feature — context on Ia Drang and Freeman’s role. U.S. Department of Defense

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