Latest Medal of Honor Recipient

The latest Medal of Honor recipient was a chopper pilot in 'Nam at the Battle of Ia Drang. President Bush awarded him the Medal. Let me quote a little from the President:

On the morning of November 14, 1965, Major Crandall's unit was transporting a battalion of soldiers to a remote spot in the Ia Drang Valley, to a landing zone called X-Ray. After several routine lifts into the area, the men on the ground came under a massive attack from the North Vietnamese army. On Major Crandall's next flight, three soldiers on his helicopter were killed, three more were wounded. But instead of lifting off to safety, Major Crandall kept his chopper on the ground — in the direct line of enemy fire — so that four wounded soldiers could be loaded aboard.

Major Crandall flew the men back to base, where the injuries could be treated. At that point, he had fulfilled his mission. But he knew that soldiers on the ground were outnumbered and low on ammunition. So Major Crandall decided to fly back into X-Ray. He asked for a volunteer to join him. Captain Ed Freeman stepped forward. In their unarmed choppers, they flew through a cloud of smoke and a wave of bullets. They delivered desperately needed supplies. They carried out more of the wounded, even though medical evacuation was really not their mission.

There is more to the Citation. You can read the rest at Medal of Honor.

I want to add that Lieutenant Rick Rescorla was involved in this battle. Rescorla was later to die on 9/11 rescuing people from the World Trade Center Towers.

Cross Posted at Classical Values