US Helicopter pilot receives Medal of Honor - after 36 years!
President Bush today presented his first Medal of Honor, saluting an Army helicopter pilot for heroism in one of the Vietnam War's fiercest battles.
Captain Ed Freeman flew his unarmed helicopter into the Ia Drang valley some 21 times in November of 1965. Braving intense enemy fire, he ferried in ammunition and supplies, while flying out 70 wounded soldiers.
At a ceremony in the White House East Room, the president handed Freeman the nation's highest military honor. With more than 50 other Medal of Honor winners looking on, Bush called it "well deserved, and long in coming."
Freeman already had won the Distinguished Flying Cross. But survivors of the battle campaigned long and hard for the top honor.
Bush credited the "persuasive weight" of another Vietnam war hero, Arizona Senator John McCain, in winning Pentagon approval.