Ed Freeman Ed W . " Too Tall " Freeman ( November 20 , 1927 – August 20 , 2008 ) was a United States Army helicopter pilot who received the U . S . military ' s highest decoration , the Medal of Honor , for his actions in the Battle of Ia Drang during the Vietnam War . During the battle , he flew through gunfire numerous times , bringing supplies to a trapped American battalion and flying dozens of wounded soldiers to safety . Freeman was a wing - man for Major Bruce Crandall who also received the Medal of Honor for the same missions . Early life . Freeman was born in Neely , Greene County , Mississippi , the sixth of nine children . When he was 13 years old , he saw thousands of men on maneuvers pass by his home in Mississippi . He knew then that he would become a soldier . He grew up in nearby McLain and graduated from Washington High School . At age 17 , before graduating from high school , Ed enlisted in the U . S . Navy and served , during World War II , on the for two years . Once the war was over , he returned to his hometown and graduated from high school . Immediately afterwards , he joined the Army . On April 30 , 1954 , he married Barbara Morgan . They had two sons , Mike , born in 1956 and Doug , born in 1962 . Military service . Beyond his service in the Navy in World War II , he reached the Army rank of first sergeant by the time of the Korean War . Although he was in the Corps of Engineers , he fought as an infantry soldier in Korea . He participated in the Battle of Pork Chop Hill and earned a battlefield commission as one of only 14 survivors out of 257 men who made it through the opening stages of the battle . His second lieutenant bars were pinned on by General James Van Fleet personally . He then assumed command of B Company and led them back up Pork Chop Hill . The commission made him eligible to become a pilot , a childhood dream of his . However , when he applied for pilot training he was told that , at six feet four inches , he was " too tall " for pilot duty . The phrase stuck , and he was known by the nickname of " Too Tall " for the rest of his career . In 1955 , the height limit for pilots was raised and Freeman was accepted into flying school . He first flew fixed - wing Army airplanes before switching to helicopters . After the Korean War , he flew the world on mapping missions . By the time he was sent to Vietnam in 1965 , he was an experienced helicopter pilot and was placed second - in - command of his sixteen - craft unit . He served as a captain in Company A , 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion , 1st Cavalry Division ( Airmobile ) . Vietnam War . On November 14 , 1965 , Freeman and his unit transported a battalion of American soldiers to the Ia Drang Valley . Later , after arriving back at base , they learned that the soldiers had come under intense fire and had taken heavy casualties . Enemy fire around the landing zones was so heavy that the landing zone was closed to medical evacuation helicopters . Freeman and his commander , Major Bruce Crandall , volunteered to fly their unarmed , lightly armored UH - 1 Huey in support of the embattled troops . Freeman made a total of fourteen trips to the battlefield , bringing in water and ammunition and taking out wounded soldiers under heavy enemy fire in what was later named the Battle of Ia Drang . Freeman was subsequently promoted to the rank of major , designated as a Master Army Aviator , and was sent home from Vietnam in 1966 . Medal of Honor . Freeman ' s commanding officer nominated him for the Medal of Honor for his actions at Ia Drang , but not in time to meet a two - year deadline then in place . He was instead awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross . The Medal of Honor nomination was disregarded until 1995 , when the two - year deadline was removed . He was formally presented with the medal on July 16 , 2001 , in the East Room of the White House by President George W . Bush . Freeman ' s official Medal of Honor citation reads : Captain Ed W . Freeman , United States Army , distinguished himself by numerous acts of conspicuous gallantry and extraordinary intrepidity on 14 November 1965 while serving with Company A , 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion , 1st Cavalry Division ( Airmobile ) . As a flight leader and second in command of a 16 - helicopter lift unit , he supported a heavily engaged American infantry battalion at Landing Zone X - Ray in the Ia Drang Valley , Republic of Vietnam . The unit was almost out of ammunition after taking some of the heaviest casualties of the war , fighting off a relentless attack from a highly motivated , heavily armed enemy force . When the infantry commander closed the helicopter landing zone due to intense direct enemy fire , Captain Freeman risked his own life by flying his unarmed helicopter through a gauntlet of enemy fire time after time , delivering critically needed ammunition , water and medical supplies to the besieged battalion . His flights had a direct impact on the battle ' s outcome by providing the engaged units with timely supplies of ammunition critical to their survival , without which they would almost surely have gone down , with much greater loss of life . After medical evacuation helicopters refused to fly into the area due to intense enemy fire , Captain Freeman flew 14 separate rescue missions , providing life - saving evacuation of an estimated 30 seriously wounded soldiers - - some of whom would not have survived had he not acted . All flights were made into a small emergency landing zone within 100 to 200 meters of the defensive perimeter where heavily committed units were perilously holding off the attacking elements . Captain Freeman ' s selfless acts of great valor , extraordinary perseverance and intrepidity were far above and beyond the call of duty or mission and set a superb example of leadership and courage for all of his peers . Captain Freeman ' s extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself , his unit and the United States Army . Military awards . His awards include : Civilian life . He retired from the military in 1969 . Freeman and his family settled in the Treasure Valley area of Idaho , his wife Barbara ' s home state . He continued to work as a pilot . He flew helicopters for another 20 years , fighting wildfires , conducting animal censuses , and herding wild horses for the Department of the Interior until his second retirement in 1991 . By then , he had 17 , 000 flight hours in helicopters , 22 , 000 overall . Death and legacy . Freeman died on August 20 , 2008 due to complications from Parkinson ' s disease . He was buried with full military honors at the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery in Boise . In the 2002 film " We Were Soldiers " , which depicted the Battle of Ia Drang , Freeman was portrayed by Mark McCracken . The post office in Freeman ' s hometown of McLain , Mississippi , was renamed the " Major Ed W . Freeman Post Office " in March 2009 .