I, Bob Marcroft, got out of the NAVY on August 6TH , 1966. I went to Viet Nam 3 times for re-supply of the ground forces and be on station off the coast of Viet Nam as hospital ship and command squadron leader on the LPH-8, the USS Valley Forge. My job was simple - steer the ship and shoot the guns and stay out of the way of the combat Marines we were dropping off there. I heard of stories like this only after I left the area. THIS IS A GOOD STORY: about a 19 year old kid. He was critically wounded and dying in the jungle somewhere in the Central Highlands of Viet Nam. It was November 11, 1967. LZ (landing zone) X-ray. His unit is outnumbered 8-1 and the enemy fire is so intense from 100 yards away, that his CO (commanding officer) has ordered the MedEvac helicopters to stop coming in. He is lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns and he knows that he is not not getting out. His family is half way around the world, 12,000 miles away, and he believes that he will never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and out, he knew this is the day. His last day. Then - over the machine gun noise - he faintly hear that sound of a helicopter. He looks up to see a Huey coming in. But.. It doesnt seem real because no MedEvac markings are on it. Captain Ed Freeman is coming in for you. Freemans not MedEvac so its not his job, but he heard the radio call and decided hes flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire anyway. Even after the MedEvacs were ordered not to come, hes coming anyway. And he drops it in and sits there in the machine gun fire, as they load 3 of the wounded at a time on board. Then he flies up and out through the gunfire to the doctors and nurses and safety. And, he kept coming back!! 13 more times!! Until all the wounded were out. No one knew until the mission was over that the Captain had been hit 4 times in the legs and left arm. He took 29 wounded men and buddies out that day. Some would not have made it without the Captain and his Huey. Medal of Honor Recipient, Captain Ed Freeman, United States Air Force, died last Wednesday at the age of 70, in Boise , Idaho May God Bless and Rest His Soul. Somebody fwd this to HANOI JANE FONDA.
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 03:44:12 +0000
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