Ed Freeman - A True Hero - Let His Memory Not Fade

On August 20, 2008, a true hero left this world. He died from the ravages of Parkinson's Disease, yet he had faced death many times before. On November 14, 1965, back when I was 10 and thought playing army was cool, Ed Freeman was going through hell in the la Drang Valley, Republic of Vietnam. Amazingly enough, it was Ed's choice to pass through the gates of hell, and not just once, but time and time and time again - in order to save soldiers he probably never had met before. He medivac'd 30 seriously wounded soldiers, and brought in supplies for countless others that helped change the tide of the battle, a battle which was one of the most fierce of the whole war.

Ed originally received the Distinguished Flying Cross, but men who fought on the ground that day, with help from Senator John McCain and others, fought for higher recognition for his valiant efforts, and he then received the MOH. Why did they fight for him to receive the medal of Honor, well let me begin with the words of President George W. Bush back in July 2001:

"That story began with the battalion surrounded by the enemy, in one of Vietnam's fiercest battles. The survivors remember the desperate fear of almost certain death. They remember gunfire that one witness described as the most intense he had ever seen. And they remember the sight of an unarmed helicopter coming to their aid."

Yep, Ed flew an unarmed Huey helicopter into a fire zone, and he did so after the commanding officer on the ground, in the middle of that fierce battle, closed the helicopter landing zone and ordered the medivac units to stand down because the fighting was too intense and he did not want to risk the lives of the pilots or crew members.

I guess either Ed did not hear that order, or he chose to disregard it. My guess is the latter, because surely once he landed on the ground in the middle of that fight, someone must have told him he was crazy and that the landing zone had been ordered closed. Regardless of the risk to his own life, Ed made that same trip not once, not twice, not even three times but 20 times. He ferried in ammunition, water and other supplies, and he ferried out men who were seriously wounded - 30 of them. Ed was no brash kid at the time either, he flew those rescue missions just prior to his 38th birthday. Of course he was not alone when he did this, he was the wingman for commander Bruce Crandall who also received the MOH some years later, I think in 2007. Bruce flew 22 missions into that same hell hole. Only two helicopters repeatedly flew in and out of the fire zone, those of Ed and Bruce. Bruce had asked for volunteers, I guess Ed was one of them. Bruce is still with us, Ed Has passed on.

I cannot say more about this without letting you read Ed's citation:

"CITATION: Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Army, Company A, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). Place and date: Landing Zone X-Ray, Ia Drang Valley, Republic of Vietnam, 14 November 1965. Born: 20 November 1927, Neely, Mississippi. Entered Service At: Hattiesburg, Mississippi Citation: Captain Ed W. Freeman, United States Army, distinguished himself by numerous acts of conspicuous gallantry and extraordinary intrepidity on 14 November 1965 while serving with Company A, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). As a flight leader and second in command of a 16-helicopter lift unit, he supported a heavily engaged American infantry battalion at Landing Zone X-Ray in the Ia Drang Valley, Republic of Vietnam. The infantry unit was almost out of ammunition after taking some of the heaviest casualties of the war, fighting off a relentless attack from a highly motivated, heavily armed enemy force. When the infantry commander closed the helicopter landing zone due to intense direct enemy fire, Captain Freeman risked his own life by flying his unarmed helicopter through a gauntlet of enemy fire time after time, delivering critically needed ammunition, water, and medical supplies to the besieged battalion. His 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 experienced a much greater loss of life. After medical evacuation helicopters refused to fly into the area due to intense enemy fire, Captain Freeman flew 14 separate rescue missions, providing life-saving evacuation of an estimated 30 seriously wounded soldiers -- some of whom would not have survived had he not acted. All flights were made into a small emergency landing zone within 100 to 200 meters of the defensive perimeter where heavily committed units were perilously holding off the attacking elements. Captain Freeman's selfless acts of great valor, extraordinary perseverance, and intrepidity were far above and beyond the call of duty or mission and set a superb example of leadership and courage for all of his peers. Captain Freeman's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army."

Now as it reads Ed saved 30 seriously wounded soldiers that day in 14 flights into hell, and while that is more than enough, the truth be told, he flew over 20 missions into hell that day, and flew out over 70 wounded soldiers. Yes he did - even though not stated that way in the citation which you will note only spoke of the 30 "seriously" wounded soldiers he saved. Go here: http://www.medalofhonor.com/EdWFreeman.htm, and go here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Freeman to read more about it.

These two men are real men, real heroes, true patriots. Despite my taking the liberty to call Ed and Bruce by their first names, I have never met either of them. I hope they would not mind a guy like me doing that, but it just seemed right, that another American would call them by their first names. I guess I feel that is so because I think we should all know them, know of them, know of their heroism, and be familiar with them to some extent for the things they did for other Americans like us. Though I never met him, Ed Freeman will be missed by me. By the way, you may have heard of Ed before today, and not yet realized it. You see he was honored in the movie: We Were Soldiers in which he was called Ed 'Too Tall' Freeman. His family can stand tall now with his memory in their hearts; he was and is a real hero. In memoriam of Ed 'Too Tall' Freeman, November 1927 to August 2008.

All the best,

Glenn B

Border Patrol Agent's Death Ignored? It Is a Gosh Awful Disgrace...

...when the death of a United States Border Patrol Agent goes virtually ignored in light of the facts that:

1) He was doing his job at the time of his death, trying to protect the nation from alien or drug smugglers, and who knows maybe even terrorists.

2) One of his last actions was to motion innocent bystanders out of the way of oncoming harm.

3) His last action, was to lay road spikes in an attempt to stop the suspect(s).

4) His last encounter on the face of this earth was to be run down and killed by a suspected smuggler.

5) The news media coverage of this tragic death was scant to say the least about it. When looked at in the light of how much news coverage was given to an actor who recently died, whose biggest claim to fame was his kissing another male actor in a gay caballero movie, and how little coverage was given to this real life American hero who sacrificed his life for the security of our great nation - well something is truly sad about that, and maybe indicative that our nation is not as great as it would want to appear to be in the first place.

6) When the media coverage of this agent's death is compared to the mud slinging, yellow journalistic, coverage that was given when two Border Patrol Agents were accused of wrongfully shooting a drug smuggler, I think people should realize that something in our lives, and in the media coverage in this country is terribly askew. No let me rephrase that, something is really fucked up would be a better to describe it, if not a better way to say it.

7) When I have not heard one word about his out of the mouth of the President of the United States of America. I think it truly embarrassing - as I am a government employee tasked with Immigration and Customs duties among others, and I started my career as a U.S. Border Patrol Agent not many miles from where this agent was killed; and when I think of the President as my ultimate executive officer - which he is in fact!

8) When I realize I have not heard one Senator, one Representative from the House of Representatives, demand that the person(s) responsible be extradited from Mexico back into the USA. I am appalled, because many of them sure made a stink in wanting to basically those two agents who shot a smuggler.

9) When I do not hear from the President of Los Estados Unidos de Mexico demanding justice in this case, and condemning the killing and the killer(s), I realize that he is a hypocrite extraordinaire, much like many of our own politicians in this same regard.

Do any of you know about the story about which I am writing? Hav eyou heard about it in the news? Yes it made the news, but I have spoken to several people who have no clue about it. I guess that is because things like the suspected probable overdose death of an actor is more important to many than is the death of someone tasked with the duty of protecting our nation and her borders. Shame on you if you are one of them who finds such absolute trivia to be more important than national security, than securing our borders, than the well being of our public servants who lay down their lives for you and yours.

I did not write about this last week because I wanted to wait to see if my guess about how it would be handled would prove true. I figured it would be largely ignored and quickly pushed aside for what would be deemed more important news, yet news that was truly trivial in light of this killing. I wanted to wait to see how it would be covered in the media, and how it was addressed by our so called leaders. My guess then was correct, as can be seen if you look back over the past week to see how it was reported, and how our elected officials addressed it.

'We The People' had best wake up, and wake up quickly. The important news of the day is not whether or not Paris Hilton wore panties (how many weeks did that make the news), or whether or not Britany Spears took another overdose today, or if an actor who was not particularly good overdosed on pills. I have heard over and over again about those much less than important events, and about who I consider to be less than important people. I have also heard way to much of how the two supposedly big bad Border patrol Agents had no just cause to shoot a Mexican drug smuggler. Did they have just cause, maybe and maybe not; but I can tell you that the Border Patrol Agent who was run down and killed in the line of duty last Saturday had just cause to do what he did - there is no doubt about it. Why is he, and his death, not being given the attention it deserves. I guess it does not matter to the media - they can sensationalize the death of an actor who played queer cowboy, so why bother reporting on a real American hero. They can show blurred out pics of the inside of Paris Hilton's thighs, so why show pictures of the fallen agent! They can give daily Britany reports, so why bother with a few more about this tragic event. I guess too that it does not matter all that much to most of our elected officials in the federal government. Why should it? He was just another Border patrol Agent, why should they care. he was just trying to secure our borders and make life safer for our citizens - do politicians really care about any of that? Does it matter to them? Does it matter to you?

I wonder, have any of you asked yourselves - what is the name of this fallen hero? His name was: Luis Aguilar Jr., a U.S. Border Patrol Senior Agent. Does it matter to you? I wonder did any of you ask yourselves what about his family, did he have one? Yes he is, or was, a husband and a father of two children. Does it matter to you? I wonder, have any of you even thought of his family? Do it matter to you? I wonder, have any of you asked yourselves, what about the guy(s) who mowed him down, have they been captured, has anyone even seriously looked for them? No they have not yet been arrested, but there are prime suspects, and they reside in Mexico, where as reported by the Mexican media, the search is on; but where in the Mexican media they also reportedly have been praised as heroes for killing one of our own. Does it matter to you?

It matters to me; and apparently it mattered to at least some in the media, though seemingly not those in the main stream media. "It mattered a lot last Saturday to Dukeshier, 31, an air-conditioning installer from Peoria, and to John Jamison, 39, a Phoenix insurance adjuster." If you don't know why it mattered to these two men, then see this article: Take the time to remember a border hero, in The Arizona Republic at http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0126roberts0126.html where you will get the explanation. Damn it, it ought to mater an awful lot more, to a whole lot more of people than it seems to. Take 10 minutes or so, look to the government links on the right side of my blog's home page. Then click on the links to contact the president, the vice president, your senators and your representative in the House. Write to them all about this and ask why it apparently does not matter, or at least not matter more to them. Demand that they speak out as loudly about this as they did about the shooting of the drug smuggler. Demand that they seek justice in this case, justice over the death of an American Citizen, over the death of an American Hero, over the death of a united States Border Patrol Agent, as much as they did over the shooting in the buttocks of a suspected drug smuggler slimeball. If you do not do at least that, then the answer to all those "Does it matter to you?" questions is simply - No you do not! If that is the case, shame on you for ever thinking yourself a decent person.

With true heartfelt sadness at the state we are in, I implore you to help make things better. Contact your elected officials and express your outrage, and outraged you should be, over this whole lack of attention to the falling of this hero. At least let this man's family know we care about him, and about them, our fellow Americans - do your part to help bring his killer(s) to justice by contacting your elected officials and demanding swift action, and swifter justice.

All the best,
Glenn B

A Hero's Lesson...

...hopefully will not have fallen on deaf ears, especially since the lesson was one of true heroism. In today's world of almost 'virtual' everything, it is often difficult to decipher the real from the fantastic, or from the make believe. The purely academic images presented by those who have never truly experienced more than little in life but what are products of the imagination are rampant; therefore mere conceptual views of what a hero should be are oft times confused with true heroism. Because of that confusion it winds up that people today often see a movie actor, a baseball player, a singer, a politician, a doctor, a teacher, a parent, a friend, as a hero; this when in fact that not even one of those folks may ever have completed one truly heroic deed among them in all of the combined years that their lives have spanned.

Indeed, heroism can take many forms, but in each and every instance there are certain aspects of heroism that are necessary before a hero can complete a heroic act. Some of these characteristics can also be found in many of our everyday endeavors; and because those other actions exhibit some similarities to heroism it is often mistakenly believed that someone who has reached a high level of achievement in those endeavors has done something heroic and is therefore a hero. For example, a baseball player breaks a long held record such as the home run record and he is hailed as a modern day hero. The truth be told, he is a great baseball, he has done a magnificent job at playing baseball,and hitter homers, but most probably has done nothing heroic in breaking said record. Another person maybe a doctor, a surgeon, who operates in a big hospital on a child and saves his life in a difficult new operation. The doctor often gets high praise from his/her colleagues, from the patient, from the parents of the child, from friends and relatives, and from the media. Many, especially the family of the child who was saved, see the doctor as a hero. Again, sorry to disappoint you, said doctor most likely does not qualify as a hero. The doctor probably is an excellent surgeon, someone who did a wonderful job, and who deserves lots of credit and thanks, but does not deserve the title of hero.

The term hero is an objective term. is is not one that was meant to be, or should be, subjective to the whim of the recipient of a good deed that does not meet those qualifiers. Great, fabulous, wonderful, competent, astute, lucky, skilled, proficient are all terms that fit the baseball players, doctors, and others to whom folks today all too often apply the moniker of hero. A true hero is a rarer bird than any of those you spot everyday, although a potential hero can be found among any flock because anyone can achieve heroism through a heroic act or acts. The commonality between heroism, heroic acts, and those other more mundane things things I mentioned above is that they all have some sense of being of impressive: size, intensity, effort, strength, duration. Heroism though goes beyond that, and any heroic act is one that requires much more than being impressive.

Heroism, besides being simply impressive, is truly outstanding act of bravery, (physical, mental, or moral) that is carried out not only in the face of adversity but usually in the face of overwhelming danger, and often while the person who is doing the act has already been afflicted by injury, pain or great difficulty. In addition a truly heroic act, although not always meant to be such by the hero at the time of the action, is one that supremely noble. It often subjects the hero to the distinct possibility of self sacrifice of life, limb or well being in order to achieve a higher purpose than the good of the person who does the heroic act. In other words a heroic act is usually an act of great loyalty to something above and beyond the individuality of the hero, to a greater cause than even to his/her family, close friends, job, team, and so forth. So again let me apologize, but breaking The Babe's home run record, while a great accomplishment, was not heroic, nor was breaking the new home run record.

So who then could be called a real hero? I guess there are a lot of people out there who are heroes to one extent or another, even within the definition that I have given; but I choose to look to a man who was laid to rest earlier today. The act that this man carried out was an impressive one indeed. It was also one that was carried out in not only the face of great adversity, but also one in which the hero faced what was overwhelming fear for those around him, they feared that they would lose their lives and some did, bit because this man acted heroically, many were also saved from death with but moments to spare. The hero had to face the same fears as the others, but something inside of him made him different than those around him. Instead of freezing in fear, or running for his life, he advanced toward the danger and did all in his power to protect the others so that they could escape. The hero had been through this before you see, that is he faced overwhelming fear, he felt something long ago, something those others around him did more recently also felt, abject helplessness. He had learned something very important though in his past experience. He learned that sometimes if you do not face danger, then life is not worth living, not your life or the lives of those you love. So he decided to take action, and the actions he took were of great loyalty, loyalty to other people whom he respected and possibly loved, whom he felt were worth saving, whom he felt were worth his own sacrifice – his students. So great was this danger from a raving mad-man that he lost his life in performing his act of heroism, but he saved many others in doing so.

One can only hope, that those whom he saved, and those to whom they tell their tale - of his outstanding heroism – will learn from his example. They will learn that life is just possibly not worth living without great sacrifice, without great loyalty, without true heroes. Today they laid a hero to rest, far away, across the sea, even though his heroism took place here in our own land. May Virginia Tech Professor Liviu Librescu rest in peace: he a husband, a father, a teacher, a survivor, a learned man, a risk taker, a fighter, a good man among good men, a hero among heroes - no greater loyalty could he have shown, no greater sacrifice could he have made. We need more people like him; I can only hope the lesson he taught was well learned by many.

All the best,
Glenn B

Captain America - Dead???

Yep folks, that is what I just read in: Captain America Killed Off in Latest Comic @ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,257398,00.html. I don't know about all of you, but when I was a kid, Captain America was my absolute favorite comic book hero. That was pretty long ago, but I think that it already showed how I was going to grow up feeling about the USA, patriotism, and so forth. No alien with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men from the planet Krypton, no Metal Men made of iron or tin, no four so fantastic, no one fast as a flash, no one shining a green lantern - as to be better than, more powerful than, outshine, out crime fight, be more moral and honest, or better protect the United States of America than Captain America himself.

Now he is dead! Yes he was only a comic book hero, but he symbolized an America that may be dead or at least dying itself. He symbolized the will of the people, as a whole, of the USA to fight that which was unjust, and outright evil; yet he also symbolized the importance of the individual in that fight. He symbolized what virtually most every American boy wanted to grow up to be when an adult. And now he dies, reportedly shot by a sniper, while he was protecting someone else.

He died the way he lived, as a hero, but should he have been killed off. I will admit I have not read a Captain America comic in quite some years now. As I understand from the article to which I linked above, the comic had become so immersed in the politics of today as to have had a story line that the U.S. government required superheroes to register their secret identities. Then what happens, he gets shot! Does that sound familiar to the rest of you. To me it sounds just like gun control. Maybe, with or without knowing it, those responsible for having him killed off in the comics, have shown just how ludicrous is gun registration and gun control. Those who have to register weapons, get licenses for them, or maybe even have their rights regarding weapons restricted - are not the ones who then do the evil deeds in the world. Had captain America not had his powers restricted, would he have been able to have survived; my bet is sure he would have survived, and kicked some more bad guy butt along the way. The analogy is there whether intentional or not.

Of course, in the comics, anything can happen. Maybe Captain America will return, my bet is he will. (If I ever hit the mega-millions jackpot for enough, maybe I'll buy the rights and then you know he will return, but I am not banking on hitting the lotto.) It is a pity though that it worked out this way. America is in need of heroes who demonstrate heroic deeds, carried out based upon morals, ethics, and patriotism, now as much as any time in her past. Whether they are imaginary heroes or real heroes, we need the inspiration they generate to be instilled into our children so they grow up to help keep America strong. Captain America was, back in the day, the penultimate comic book hero/patriot. I mourn the loss of an American hero - even a comic book hero - whom millions of kids grew up loving, learning from, and emulating as far as patriotism goes. Captain America's death is a symbolic loss, even a real loss in a sort of a way, that we in the United States of America would be better off without.

All the best,
Glenn B