Ed Freeman was a larger than life hero. Apparently, he had a great sense of humor. He also was exceptionally humble. He wasn’t actually awarded “The Medal” until 2001. This battle actually happened on November 14th in 1965 not 1967. On that day in 1965 there were actually two pilots who braved insurmountable odds to save lives. While both men were extremely brave, they were also both exceptionally humble. The other pilot was MAJ Bruce Crandall. Crandall was Freemans’ Commander and he(Crandall) immediately submitted Freeman for the award in 1965. Freeman refused to “cooperate” with the folks tasked with gathering the necessary information to give to Congress for this award, so, the process was never completed. Apparently, Freeman refused to be considered unless his counterpart received the same consideration. Crandall, as you might have guessed, declined to pursue that course. Anyway, Crandall never stopped “working” on the award for Freeman. In 2001 Freeman finally acquiesced and was awarded the Medal of Honor. Freeman, then became a strong advocate for Crandall. In 2002 a movie about the battle at Ia Drang was made starring Mel Gibson (We Were Soldiers Once). This created new interest in several of the soldiers involved in the incredible battle, including, Freeman and Crandall. This, coupled with the tireless efforts of many, led to Crandall receiving the Award in 2007. Crandall is still alive, and is quite a character.
I thought you might find that tidbit interesting. There is a web site (run by the Department of Defense) that has a ton if information about our Nation’s highest honor in case you are interested: http://www.cmohs.org/
From our agent in Kansas, John Campbell.....thank you John for the clarification and the information.
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