Richard Etchberger Richard Loy Etchberger ( March 5 , 1933 – March 11 , 1968 ) was a senior non - commissioned officer in the United States Air Force who posthumously received the United States military ' s highest decoration , the Medal of Honor , for his actions during the Battle of Lima Site 85 in the Vietnam War . The medal was formally presented to his three sons by President Barack Obama during a ceremony at the White House on September 21 , 2010 . Military career . A native of Hamburg , Pennsylvania , Etchberger graduated from Hamburg High School in 1951 . He joined the Air Force on August 31 of that year , and was promoted to Chief Master Sergeant on April 1 , 1967 . Battle of Lima Site 85 . During the Vietnam War , Etchberger was among a group of airmen hand - picked for a classified mission : manning secret radar facilities in Laos . According to the 1962 International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos , the U . S . was to have no military facilities in that country . As such , the selectees would officially become civilians employed by Lockheed Aircraft . Etchberger was deployed to Lima Site 85 , used to direct bombing missions against targets in Laos and North Vietnam . The code name for this top secret mission was “ Heavy Green . ” The site was staffed by sixteen ' former ' airmen , including Etchberger , two CIA agents , and one forward air control ler . Local guerrilla fighters were hired to protect the base . Between November 1967 and March 1968 , Lima Site 85 directed 27 percent of all air strike missions in Laos and North Vietnam . When successful strikes were launched even through heavy cloud cover , the North Vietnamese realized that a radar facility must be nearby . Beginning in January 1968 , North Vietnamese troops began closing in on Site 85 . On January 13 , the base was strafed by two An - 2 Colt biplanes , killing several of the local guerrillas . The crew of a CIA Air America UH - 1H helicopter responded to the attack , managing to shoot down one aircraft with an AK - 47 . Plans were made to abandon and destroy the base , but they were not implemented in time . In the early morning hours of March 11 , 1968 , the site came under attack from North Vietnamese soldiers who had scaled the surrounding cliffs . By 3 a . m . , Etchberger and six others were the only surviving Americans out of the original 19 . Etchberger tended to the wounded and fought off the advancing North Vietnamese troops until a rescue helicopter arrived . He then helped load the wounded onto slings to be lifted into the hovering aircraft before coming aboard himself . As the helicopter headed towards an air base in Thailand , an enemy soldier below fired his AK - 47 into the underside of the aircraft , fatally wounding Etchberger . John Daniel had been shot twice in the legs and was taking shelter amidst the bodies of other casualties when Etchberger recovered him and fitted him into the helicopter sling . Upon regaining consciousness and learning that Etchberger himself had been killed , Daniel voiced his disbelief : " Hell , he hasn ’ t been injured , he hasn ’ t been shot . How is he dead ? " Decades later , when Etchberger was awarded the Medal of Honor , Daniel , in an interview with " Stars and Stripes " , suggested : " It should have happened 42 years - plus ago , and he should have gotten a damn 55 - gallon drum full of them if he wanted them . " Legacy . Etchberger was recommended for the Medal of Honor shortly after his death , but the nomination was rejected . Numerous accounts blame President Lyndon B . Johnson , but the decision was made by Gen . John D . Ryan , the Air Force vice chief of staff , who was the USAF approving authority for top awards . The Lima Site mission was still classified at the time , and the U . S . was not supposed to have soldiers in Laos . Etchberger was instead awarded the second highest decoration , the Air Force Cross . The decoration was presented to his family during a secret ceremony at the Pentagon . It was only after the Lima Site mission had been declassified fourteen years after Etchberger ' s death that his sons learned their father ' s true fate ; they had previously been told that he died in a helicopter accident . In the early 2000s , veterans of the Air Force ' s 1st Combat Evaluation Group began requesting that Etchberger ' s Air Force Cross be upgraded to the Medal of Honor . The upgrade was approved by Secretary of the Air Force Michael B . Donley in 2008 , and by the U . S . Congress in 2009 . Etchberger is buried in Saint John ' s Cemetery , Hamburg , Pennsylvania . A portion of Interstate 78 in Berks County , Pennsylvania was named the CMSgt . Richard L . Etchberger Memorial Highway in his honor . Medal of Honor . The Medal of Honor was presented to Etchberger ' s sons by President Obama at a White House ceremony on September 21 , 2010 . The text of Etchberger ' s Medal of Honor citation reads : The President of the United States of America , authorized by act of Congress , March 3 , 1863 , has awarded , in the name of the Congress , the Medal of Honor to Chief Master Sgt . Richard L . Etchberger , United States Air Force , for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life , above and beyond the call of duty . Chief Master Sgt . Richard L . Etchberger distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism on March 11 , 1968 , in the country of Laos . While assigned as Ground Radar Superintendent , Detachment 1 , 1043rd Radar Evacuation Squadron . On that day , Chief Etchberger and his team of technicians were manning a top - secret defensive position at Lima Site 85 when the base was overrun by an enemy ground force . Receiving sustained and withering heavy artillery attacks directly upon his unit ’ s position , Chief Etchberger ’ s entire crew lay dead or severely wounded . Despite having received little or no combat training , Chief Etchberger single - handedly held off the enemy with an M - 16 , while simultaneously directing air strikes into the area and calling for air rescue . Because of his fierce defense and heroic and selfless actions , he was able to deny the enemy access to his position and save the lives of his remaining crew . With the arrival of the rescue aircraft , Chief Etchberger without hesitation repeatedly and deliberately risked his own life , exposing himself to heavy enemy fire , in order to place three surviving wounded comrades into rescue slings hanging from the hovering helicopter waiting to airlift them to safety . With his remaining crew safely aboard , Chief Etchberger finally climbed into the evacuation sling himself , only to be fatally wounded by enemy ground fire as he was being raised into the aircraft . Chief Etchberger ' s bravery and determination in the face of persistent enemy fire and overwhelming odds are in keeping with the highest standards of performance and traditions of military service . Chief Etchberger ' s gallantry , self - sacrifice , and profound concern for his fellow men , at risk of his life , above and beyond the call of duty , reflect the highest credit on himself and the United States Air Force .