19 Facts About Ed Freeman

Ed W "Too Tall" Freeman was a United States Army helicopter pilot who received the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in the Battle of Ia Drang during the Vietnam War.

Ed Freeman was born in Neely, Greene County, Mississippi, the sixth of nine children.

Ed Freeman knew then that he would become a soldier.

Ed Freeman grew up in nearby McLain, Mississippi, and graduated from Washington High School.

At age 17, before graduating from high school, Ed Freeman served in the United States Navy for two years.

Ed Freeman joined the United States Army in September 1948, and married Barbara Morgan on April 30,1955.

Ed Freeman participated in the Battle of Pork Chop Hill and earned a battlefield commission as one of only 14 survivors out of 257 men who made it through the opening stages of the battle.

Ed Freeman then assumed command of B Company and led them back up Pork Chop Hill.

In 1955, the height limit for pilots was raised and Ed Freeman was accepted into flying school.

Ed Freeman first flew fixed-wing army airplanes before switching to helicopters.

Ed Freeman served as a captain in Company A, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division.

Ed Freeman made a total of fourteen trips to the battlefield, bringing in water and ammunition and taking out wounded soldiers under heavy enemy fire in what was later named the Battle of Ia Drang.

Ed Freeman was promoted to the rank of major, designated as a Master Army Aviator, and was sent home from Vietnam in 1966.

Ed Freeman's commanding officer nominated him for the Medal of Honor for his actions at Ia Drang, but not in time to meet a two-year deadline then in place.

Ed Freeman was formally presented with the medal on July 16,2001, in the East Room of the White House by President George W Bush.

Ed Freeman's 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.

Ed Freeman flew helicopters for another 24 years, fighting wildfires, conducting animal censuses, and herding wild horses for the Department of the Interior until his second retirement in 1991.

Ed Freeman died on August 20,2008, due to complications from Parkinson's disease.

Ed Freeman was buried with full military honors at the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery in Boise.