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#1
05-26-2018, 02:20 PM
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A Hero's Storyfor Memorial Day
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 a 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 last Wednesday (Aug 2008) at the age of 80, in Boise , ID ......May God rest his soul..... 
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#2
05-26-2018, 02:42 PM
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Ed "Too Tall" Freeman...
His heroic actions in that battle were featured prominently in the movie "We Were Soldiers"... One of the best war movies I've seen, because it delved deeply in to the personal and emotional sides of the characters... I still can't watch it without a lump in my throat throughout...
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"Music is much too important to be left to professionals."
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#3
05-26-2018, 04:09 PM
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And don't forget his commander, Bruce Crandall, who led Ed on those missions. When Bruce was being considered for the medal of honor, He asked that it be postponed until Ed's could be awarded first.
Bob
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"It is said, 'Go not to the elves for counsel for they will say both no and yes.' " Frodo Baggins to Gildor Inglorion, The Fellowship of the Ring THE MUSICIAN'S ROOM (my website)
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#5
05-27-2018, 07:24 AM
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What a great story.
Just a few months ago my Dad who is 92 and a WWII vet, had his lost medals restored through the efforts of Congressman Jim Renacci and his staff here in Ohio. Dad served in the Philippines and Japan. The presentation event was held at my sister's house and covered by the news in Cleveland. Dad was so grateful to get his medals returned but he choked up as he remembered those he knew who did not return and the horrors of his war experience. I don't think there is any way we can ever truly thank those who fought and sacrificed for our freedoms.
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Nothing bothers me unless I let it. Martin D18 Gibson J45 Gibson J15 Fender Copperburst Telecaster Squier CV 50 Stratocaster Squier CV 50 Telecaster
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#6
05-27-2018, 08:59 AM
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#7
05-28-2018, 07:56 AM
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Very honorable story. We need to remember these true heroes who went well above and beyond. The freedoms we enjoy rest on folks like Ed Freeman. As we go to court and holler on and on about "our rights" and entitlements, we should remember the price some folks paid to let us do that. These rights always come with a cost not shared equally by all. Memorial Day remembers those who paid the highest price, as well as some of the most outstanding heroes who survived.
Tony
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“The guitar is a wonderful thing which is understood by few.” — Franz Schubert "Alexa, where's my stuff?" - Anxiously waiting...
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#8
05-28-2018, 08:22 AM
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Quote:
The why or how of wars is irrelevant when talking about the courage of the honorable people who are placed in the middle of it all. Especially so for characters like Ed Freeman. For those of you who haven’t seen it, the movie “Hacksaw Ridge” would be a good one to see today. Every war has its share of Ed Freemans.
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Best regards, Andre Golf is pretty simple. It's just not that easy. - Paul Azinger "It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so." – Mark Twain http://www.youtube.com/user/Gitfiddlemann
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#9
05-28-2018, 08:31 AM
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I have a shadow box on a wall containing the air medals and related items of nostalgia I assembled for that purpose that belonged to my pop. He was a combat pilot in WWII and Korea. He saved everything from his cadet days through his retirement in 1963. Boxes of stuff, including all flight logs, orders, USAAC and USAF personnel records, Wing/Squadron records of every combat sortie flown, his original WWII leather skull cap with O2 mask and goggles, flight suits, a disassembled .30 Cal carbine wrapped up in cosmoline tape...stuff. I have his cadet ring depicting a relief of an overhead plan view profile of a P-38 Lightning. My two young adult sons are one generation removed from the sensitivity of the life of war he lived and over came. So, I'll do what I can to preserve his memory. Maybe they will keep it alive in their own way.
This is an idea I had regarding the old soldier and his story. The internet is a wonderful resource with a limitless scope of information. I thought about it as it relates to preserving the histories of veterans. If they can assemble their service histories a site dedicated to preserving them would be pretty cool to have. If there's already such a place I'm not familiar with it. Anyway, it's just a thought that pesters me periodically.
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#10
05-28-2018, 09:08 AM
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Seeing your link to the Fisher House reminded me. My mother-in-law (who is slowly slipping away in a memory care unit) managed the one right off of Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio for many years. A great foundation doing great work!
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#11
05-28-2018, 03:42 PM
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Quote:
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2022 Eastman E40 00 Cordoba C5 2018 Martin 00-17 Authentic 1931 2018 Guild M-20 2015 Martin CEO-7 2012 Martin OM-21 2011 Voyage-Air VAOM-04 2011 Taylor GA8 1930's Supertone Parlor
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