asked us yesterday to post a
Thank You Richard Etchberger
post.
We are pleased to be asked
and humbled and honored so to do.
Air Force Chief Master Sergeant Etchberger was killed in Laos in 1968.
Air Force Chief Master Sergeant Etchberger was killed in Laos in 1968.
Military Times notes that because U.S. military combat personnel were prohibited from serving in Laos at the time of this action, Chief Master Sergeant Etchberger was officially in "civilian status" when Lima Site 85 was attacked. After his death he was reinstated to active duty status, awarded the Air Force Cross and Purple heart, and classified as Killed in Action. His is one of the few ground combat actions to result in award of the Air Force Cross. In 2007 Congressional action moved forward in an on-going effort to get his Air Force Cross upgraded to the Medal of Honor.
Chief Master Sergeant Richard L. Etchberger
On 11 March 1968, Chief Master Sergeant Richard L. Etchberger was manning a defensive position when the base was overrun by an enemy ground force.
The enemy was able to deliver sustained and withering fire directly upon this position from higher ground.
His entire crew dead or wounded, Chief Etchberger continued to return the enemy's fire thus denying them access to the position.
During this entire period, Chief Etchberger continued to direct air strikes and call for air rescue on his emergency radio, thereby enabling the air evacuation force to locate the surrounded friendly element.
When air rescue arrived, Chief Etchberger deliberately exposed himself to enemy fire in order to place his three surviving wounded comrades in the rescue slings permitting them to be airlifted to safety.
As Chief Etchberger was finally being rescued, he was fatally wounded, by enemy ground fire. His fierce defense which culminated in the supreme sacrifice of his life, saved not only the lives of his three comrades but provided for the successful evacuation of the remaining survivors of the base.
The patch of the 1st AACS Mobile Communications Group present at Lima Site 85.
First In, Last Out
First In, Last Out
Though he is a reluctant Commander in Chief, U.S. President B. H. Obama gave the Medal of Honor to Etchberger's sons Steven Wilson and Cory and Richard Etchberger -- which was awarded to Chief Master Sergeant Richard L. Etchberger, U.S. Air Force, for conspicuous gallantry.
The long overdue ceremony honoring Chief Master Sergeant Richard L. Etchberger was held in the East Room of the White House in Washington on September 21, 2010.
Etchberger was killed in Laos in 1968, when Lyndon Baines Johnson was Commander in Chief.
Rest In Peace, Chief Master Sergeant Richard L. Etchberger.
1 comment:
Words cannot express, so I won't even try. I'm left absolutely speechless with the debt of gratitude owed to these men and women.
Thank you.
Post a Comment