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Honor A Veteran

Ed W. Freeman

Captain

Company A, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 

1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile)

United States Army, World War II, Korea, Vietnam

Hometown: Neely, Mississippi

Ed "Too Tall" Freeman was a career Army man, who was a Master Sergeant in the Engineers, but when war broke out in Korea, he served as an infantryman. During the battle of Pork Chop Hill he fought so bravely that he received a battlefield commission.

After the Korean War ended, Freeman applied for flight school, but at 6’4” inches he was too tall for the height requirement. While he didn’t get into flight school, he did get a nickname, and was known as Too Tall Freeman for the rest of his life.

Flying was a lifelong dream of Freeman’s, and when the Army relaxed the height restrictions in 1955, he again applied for flight school and was accepted. He flew fixed wing aircraft, and then transitioned to helicopters. By the time he was assigned to the 1^st Cavalry and given orders to Vietnam in 1965, he had accumulated hundreds of hours as a helicopter pilot.

During the bloody battle of the Ia Drang Valley, in November, 1965, the fighting was so intense that medevac helicopters could not land. Freeman, who was second in command of a unit charged with transporting troops, volunteered to bring in supplies and carry wounded out of the firefight.

He made fourteen flights into the midst of the battle, landing less than 100 yards from the heaviest fighting. His unarmed chopper was hit repeatedly by enemy fire, but Too Tall Freeman continued to fly into the line of fire to bring much needed supplies to the troops on the ground and to carry out the wounded. Dozens of wounded soldiers owe their lives to Freeman for his brave actions during the battle. 

For his actions during the battle, Freeman was nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honor, but due to a technicality, he did not receive the award until July 16, 2001. 

Ed Freeman retired from the Army in 1967, and spent the next 20 years flying helicopters for the Department of the Interior, helping with wild horse roundups, and fighting forest fires.

Ed “Too Tall” Freeman died August 20, 2008 from complications from Parkinson’s Disease.