This week in Washington, the three sons of Air Force Chief Master Sergeant Richard Etchberger, killed in action during the Vietnam War, were presented his Medal of Honor, awarded 42 years after his heroic actions
Due to the highly-classified nature of the mission, details of Sergeant Etchberger's courage and "uncommon valor" remained little known until more recent times. He was part of a small technical team, manning a covert mountain-top radar site in Laos, a nation, technically, neutral. As such they all relinquished their military status, deploying, then, under cover as civilian employees. Their mission atop that mountain was to help direct U.S. attack aircraft to targets in North Vietnam. The enemy eventually caught on, and began to advance on that site, several thousand feet up. Then, in the darkness of March 11, 1968, enemy soldiers finally reached them and attacked. Etchberger and the others fought back, while calling for air strikes and rescue. By the time the evac-helicopter arrived, most with him had been killed, the rest, wounded. Exposing himself to enemy fire, Etchberger helped the three wounded survivors into hovering rescue slings, saving their lives. Then, with his buddies cared for, he was hoisted aloft, but enemy fire found him at last, and he perished during that flight to safety. His incredible heroics, finally now revealed, and with proper tribute, a grateful nation salutes the memory of Medal of Honor recipient, Air Force Chief Master Sergeant Richard Etchberger, yet another of America's long-line of genuine military heroes.
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