Congressional Record—House H3410
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H3410 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE March 16, 2009 perseverance, and intrepidity were far On November 14, 1965, Major Free- was almost out of ammunition after taking above and beyond the call of duty or man’s helicopters carried a battalion some of the heaviest casualties of the war, mission and set a superb example of into battle in the Ia Drang Valley, fighting off a relentless attack from a highly leadership and courage for all of his motivated, heavily armed enemy force. When which became the first major con- the infantry commander closed the heli- peers.’’ frontation between large U.S. forces copter landing zone due to intense direct Major Freeman’s heroic acts in the Ia and North Vietnamese regulars. For enemy fire, Captain Freeman risked his own Drang Valley were subsequently im- that, he received a number of com- life by flying his unarmed helicopter through mortalized in the Mel Gibson film We mendations for his willingness to fly a gauntlet of enemy fire time after time, de- Were Soldiers. into the face of this heavy combat livering critically needed ammunition, water While he retired from the military in while dealing with casualties, going in and medical supplies to the besieged bat- 1967 and moved to Idaho with his be- and out and running low on supplies talion. His flights had a direct impact on the battle’s outcome by providing the engaged loved wife, Barbara, and sons, Mike and and fuel. Doug, Major Freeman did not give up units with timely supplies of ammunition Major Freeman volunteered to fly critical to their survival, without which they flying—as he went to work for the De- into the battle area, risking his own would almost surely have gone down, with partment of the Interior’s Office of Air- life, delivering critically needed ammu- much greater loss of life. After medical evac- craft Services. Upon his official retire- nition, water, and medical supplies to a uation helicopters refused to fly into the ment in 1991, Major Freeman had battalion on the ground. area due to intense enemy fire, Captain Free- logged more than 25,000 hours of flying In all, Major Freeman carried out 14 man flew 14 separate rescue missions, pro- viding life-saving evacuation of an estimated time. separate rescue missions. For these ac- Regrettably, Major Freeman passed 30 seriously wounded soldiers—some of whom tions, Major Freeman was awarded the would not have survived had he not acted. away in August of last year at the age Congressional Medal of Honor on July of 80. All flights were made into a small emer- 16, 2001, by President George W. Bush. gency landing zone within 100 to 200 meters Mr. Speaker, let us honor Major A few months later, Major Freeman of the defensive perimeter where heavily Freeman and his service to our country visited the White House again for the committed units were perilously holding off through the passage of this legislation. premier of We Were Soldiers, a 2002 fea- the attacking elements. Captain Freeman’s I urge my colleagues to join me in selfless acts of great valor, extraordinary passing H.R. 1284, and dedicating the ture film that depicted his role in the perseverance and intrepidity were far above McLain Post Office after this distin- battle that day. and beyond the call of duty or mission and guished veteran. We will miss ‘‘Too Tall.’’ We will set a superb example of leadership and cour- I reserve the balance of our time. miss his generation. age for all of his peers. Captain Freeman’s Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself Mr. Freeman died in Boise, Idaho, on extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty such time as I may consume. August 20, 2008, from complications of are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support Parkinson’s disease, and is survived by his wife of 54 years, Barbara Freeman, upon himself, his unit and the United States of H.R. 1284, to designate the facility of Army. and his sons, Mike and Doug. the United States postal service lo- Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I Mr. Speaker, naming a post office cated at 103 West Main Street in would urge the passage of H.R. 1284, after a man who gave and gave and McLain, Mississippi, as the ‘‘Major Ed recognizing a Medal of Honor winner, a gave to his country the way Major W. Freeman Post Office.’’ great American, one who has lived a Major Freeman perhaps balances the Freeman did is little enough to do. long life and contributed a great deal three initiatives here today—a young Today, recognizing his life and con- to our country. Again, I urge support soldier; an inspirational young man tribution, too, is little enough to do for for H.R. 1284. who died far too young of cancer; and, one of the last of America’s finest gen- I yield back the balance of my time. thirdly, a man who lived a full and erations. Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, again, I complete life but who gave and gave With that, I reserve the balance of simply want to thank Mr. TAYLOR of and gave. my time. Mississippi and, again, I want to urge Major Freeman was born on Novem- Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, at this all Members to support H.R. 1284. ber 20, 1927, in Mississippi. Before grad- time I yield 5 minutes to the lead spon- The SPEAKER pro tempore. The uating from high school, as many of his sor of this resolution, the gentleman question is on the motion offered by generation, often called America’s fin- from Mississippi (Mr. TAYLOR). the gentleman from Massachusetts est generation, young Freeman en- Mr. TAYLOR. I want to thank the (Mr. LYNCH) that the House suspend listed in the Navy, and served 2 years gentlemen from Massachusetts and the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1284. before returning home to Mississippi, California for their very timely consid- The question was taken. graduating from high school, and de- eration of this. I want to thank all the The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the ciding to return to the military; this members of the Mississippi House dele- opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being time, to the Army. gation for cosponsoring it. in the affirmative, the ayes have it. During the Korean War, Ed Freeman Gentlemen, there really isn’t any- Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, on that I rose to the rank of master sergeant in thing that remains to be said. I think demand the yeas and nays. an Army engineer unit, and did his bat- you all did a phenomenal job of hon- The yeas and nays were ordered. tles in many places, including the bat- oring Ed Freeman’s life. The only thing The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- tle immortalized as Pork Chop Hill, I would ask is that his Medal of Honor ant to clause 8 of rule XX and the and was then awarded a Battlefield citation be included in the CONGRES- Chair’s prior announcement, further Commission. SIONAL RECORD. proceedings on this motion will be As was earlier mentioned, Major Thank you for the timely consider- postponed. Freeman was too tall to be initially al- ation. f lowed to be a pilot. At 6′4″, he was cer- MEDAL OF HONOR CITATION, CAPTAIN ED W. RECESS tainly a big target for the infantry, I FREEMAN, UNITED STATES ARMY The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- might say, too. But with his persever- For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity ance, he eventually attended flight at the risk of his life above and beyond the ant to clause 12(a) of rule I, the Chair school until the regulation changed in call of duty: declares the House in recess until ap- 1955. But he kept that nickname, ‘‘Too Captain Ed W. Freeman, United States proximately 6:30 p.m. today. Tall’’ Freeman. He carried it through Army, distinguished himself by numerous Accordingly (at 4 o’clock and 28 min- the rest of his military career. acts of conspicuous gallantry and extraor- utes p.m.), the House stood in recess After winning his wings, Major Free- dinary intrepidity on 14 November 1965 while until approximately 6:30 p.m. man began to fly fixed-wing aircraft serving with Company A, 229th Assault Heli- f and later switched to helicopters. In copter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division (Air- mobile). As a flight leader and second in b 1830 1965, he was sent to Vietnam and served command of a 16-helicopter lift unit, he sup- AFTER RECESS in Company A, 229th Assault Heli- ported a heavily engaged American infantry copter Battalion, of the famous 1st Cal- battalion at Landing Zone X-Ray in the Ia The recess having expired, the House vary Division. Drang Valley, Republic of Vietnam. The unit was called to order by the Speaker pro VerDate Nov 24 2008 03:24 Mar 17, 2009 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 7634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\K16MR7.012 H16MRPT1 wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with HOUSE.