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Last night in Los Angeles, the local ABC affiliate pre-empted the entire World News Tonight broadcast for a breaking local story.
Whatever Charlie Gibson might have reported about the economy, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the President’s health care plans, unemployment rates or the like didn’t make the air. Instead, we got extended coverage of the helicopter delivering Michael Jackson’s body to the county coroner’s office, and Jermaine Jackson’s emotional statement on behalf of the family.
It occurred to me that much of the news this week has focused on three entertainers who passed away: Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. Every human life is precious, and every family grieves the loss of their love ones, but the media predictably lavish attention on those who have lived their lives in the footlights. There is precious little recognition for the good and quiet people who do not live public lives..
Coincidentally, I recently received a note about a quiet man who died three months ago. He was a helicopter pilot when he was younger. I’m guessing your local news didn’t remark on his passing – I’m pretty sure it wasn’t reported by ABC in Los Angeles – so here it is.
Ed Freeman
You're a 19 year old kid. You're critically wounded, and dying in the jungle in the Ia Drang Valley , 11-14-1965, LZ X-ray, Vietnam . Your infantry unit is outnumbered 8-1, and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 or 200 yards away, that your own Infantry Commander has ordered the MediVac helicopters to stop coming in.
You're lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns, and you know you're not getting out. Your family is half way around the world-12,000 miles away-and you'll never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day.
Then, over the machine gun noise, you faintly hear that sound of helicopter, and you look up to see an un-armed Huey, but it doesn't seem real, because no Medi-Vac markings are on it.
Ed Freeman is coming for you. He's not Medi-Vac, so it's not his job, but he's flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire, after the Medi-Vacs were ordered not to come.
He's coming anyway.
And he drops it in, and sits there in the machine gun fire, as they load 2 or 3 of you on board.
Then he flies you up and out through the gunfire, to the doctors and nurses.
And, he kept coming back, 13 more times, and took about 30 of you and your buddies out, who would never have gotten out.
Medal of Honor Recipient, Ed Freeman, died Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 at the age of 80, in Boise, ID.. May God rest his soul.
Medal of Honor
Winner
Ed
Freeman!
Since the Media didn't give him the coverage he deserves, Send this to every American you know.
THANKS AGAIN, ED, FOR WHAT YOU DID FOR OUR COUNTRY..
RIP
