Ed W. "Too Tall" Freeman (November 20, 1927 – August 20, 2008) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

helicopter pilot who received the United States military's highest decoration, the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

, for his actions in the Battle of Ia Drang during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

. During the battle, he flew through gunfire numerous times, bringing supplies to a trapped American battalion and flying dozens of wounded soldiers to safety. Freeman was a

wingman A wingman (or wingmate) is a pilot or UAV who supports another pilot in a potentially dangerous flying environment. ''Wingman'' was originally the plane flying beside and slightly behind the lead plane in an aircraft formation. According to t ...

for Major Bruce Crandall who also received the Medal of Honor for the same missions.

Early life

Freeman was born in Neely,

Greene County, Mississippi Greene County is a county located on the southeast border of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,530. Its county seat is Leakesville. Established in 1811, the county was named for General Nathanael Green ...

, the sixth of nine children. When he was 13 years old, he saw thousands of men on maneuvers pass by his home in Mississippi. He knew then that he would become a soldier. Freeman grew up in nearby

McLain, Mississippi McLain is a town in Greene County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 441 at the 2010 census, down from 603 at the 2000 census. History Natural disasters In early spring 2016, McLain had major flooding which closed many roads and t ...

, and graduated from Washington High School. At age 17, before graduating from high school, Freeman served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

for two years. After the war, he returned to his hometown and graduated from high school. He joined the

in September 1948, and married Barbara Morgan on April 30, 1955. They had two sons: Mike, born in 1956, and Doug, born in 1962.

Military career

World War II

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Freeman served for two years in the United States Navy on the .

Korean War

By the time of the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, Freeman reached the army rank of first sergeant. Although he was in the Corps of Engineers, his company fought as infantry soldiers in Korea. He participated in the Battle of Pork Chop Hill and earned a

battlefield commission A battlefield promotion (or field promotion) is an advancement in military rank that occurs while deployed in combat. A standard field promotion is advancement from current rank to the next higher rank; a "jump-step" promotion allows the recipient ...

as one of only 14 survivors out of 257 men who made it through the opening stages of the battle. His second lieutenant bars were pinned on by General

James Van Fleet General James Alward Van Fleet (March 19, 1892 – September 23, 1992) was a United States Army officer who saw service during World War I, World War II and the Korean War. Van Fleet was a native of New Jersey, who was raised in Florida and gradu ...

personally. He then assumed command of B Company and led them back up Pork Chop Hill. The commission made him eligible to become a pilot, a childhood dream of his. However, when he applied for pilot training he was told that, at six feet four inches, he was "too tall" for pilot duty. The phrase stuck, and he was known by the nickname of "Too Tall" for the rest of his career. In 1955, the height limit for pilots was raised and Freeman was accepted into flying school. He first flew fixed-wing army airplanes before switching to helicopters. After the Korean War, he flew the world on mapping missions.

Vietnam War

By the time Freeman was sent to

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

in 1965, he was an experienced helicopter pilot and was placed second-in-command of his sixteen-aircraft unit. He served as a captain in Company A, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion,

1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

. On November 14, 1965, Freeman and his unit transported a

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...

of American soldiers to the

Ia Drang Valley The Battle of Ia Drang (, ; in English ) was the first major battle between the United States Army and the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), as part of the Pleiku Campaign conducted early in the Vietnam War, at the eastern foot of the Chu Pong Ma ...

. Later, after arriving back at base, they learned that the soldiers had come under intense fire and had taken heavy casualties. Enemy fire around the landing zones was so heavy that the landing zone was closed to medical evacuation helicopters. Freeman and his commander, Major Bruce Crandall, volunteered to fly their unarmored, lightly armed

UH-1 Huey The Bell UH-1 Iroquois (nicknamed "Huey") is a utility military helicopter designed and produced by the American aerospace company Bell Helicopter. It is the first member of the prolific Huey family, as well as the first turbine-powered helico ...

in support of the embattled troops. Freeman made a total of fourteen trips to the battlefield, bringing in water and ammunition and taking out wounded soldiers under heavy enemy fire in what was later named the Battle of Ia Drang. Freeman was subsequently promoted to the rank of major, designated as a Master Army Aviator, and was sent home from Vietnam in 1966.

Medal of Honor

Freeman's commanding officer nominated him for the

for his actions at Ia Drang, but not in time to meet a two-year deadline then in place. He was instead awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. The Medal of Honor nomination was disregarded until 1995, when the two-year deadline was removed. He was formally presented with the medal on July 16, 2001, in the East Room of the White House by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

. Freeman's official Medal of Honor citation reads: EdFreemanMoH

Awards and decorations

Civilian life

Freeman retired from the military in 1967. Freeman and his family settled in the

Treasure Valley The Treasure Valley is a valley in the western United States, primarily in southwestern Idaho, where the Payette, Boise, Weiser, Malheur, Owyhee, and Burnt rivers drain into the Snake River. It includes all the lowland areas from Vale in rur ...

area of

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

, his wife Barbara's home state. He continued to work as a pilot. He flew helicopters for another 24 years, fighting wildfires, conducting animal censuses, and herding wild horses for the Department of the Interior until his second retirement in 1991. By then, he had 17,000 flight hours in helicopters, 22,000 overall.

Death and legacy

Freeman died on August 20, 2008, due to complications from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

. He was buried with full military honors at the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery in

Boise Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown area' ...

. In the 2002 film ''

We Were Soldiers ''We Were Soldiers'' is a 2002 war film written and directed by Randall Wallace and starring Mel Gibson. Based on the book '' We Were Soldiers Once… and Young'' (1992) by Lieutenant General (Ret.) Hal Moore and reporter Joseph L. Galloway, i ...

'', which depicted the Battle of Ia Drang, Freeman was portrayed by Mark McCracken. The post office in Freeman's hometown of

, was renamed the "Major Ed W. Freeman Post Office" in March 2009.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Ed 1927 births 2008 deaths Vietnam War recipients of the Medal of Honor United States Army Medal of Honor recipients Battle of Ia Drang Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Gallantry Cross (Vietnam) Recipients of the Air Medal United States Army personnel of the Korean War United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War United States Army officers American Korean War pilots American Vietnam War pilots American Master Army Aviators Deaths from Parkinson's disease People from Greene County, Mississippi Neurological disease deaths in Idaho