[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 29 (Monday, July 23, 2001)]
[Pages 1044-1045]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on Presenting the Congressional Medal of Honor
to Captain Ed W. Freeman

July 16, 2001

    The President. Please be seated. Good morning, and welcome to the 
White House. Today, for the first time, I will present the Medal of 
Honor. It's a unique privilege to present the Nation's highest military 
distinction to Ed Freeman of Boise, Idaho. This moment is well deserved, 
and it's been long in coming.
    Our White House military unit is accustomed to a lot of great 
events, but I can assure you they started this day with a great sense of 
anticipation. After all, they know how rare this kind of gathering is 
and what it means. To be in the presence of one who has won the Medal of 
Honor is a privilege; to be in the room with a group of over 50 is a 
moment none of us will ever forget. We're in the presence of more than 
50 of the bravest men who have ever worn the uniform, and I want to 
welcome you all to the White House.
    It's an honor, as well, to welcome Barbara--a name I kind of like--
[laughter]--Ed's wife, along with his family members and members of his 
unit from Vietnam. As well, I want to welcome the Vice President, the 
Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Chief of 
the Joint Chiefs, as well as members of the Joint Chiefs. I want to 
welcome Senator McCain. I want to welcome Senator Craig, Congressman 
Otter, and Congressman Simpson from the delegation of Idaho. I want to 
welcome you all.
    It was in this house, in this office upstairs, that Abraham Lincoln 
signed into law the bills establishing the Medal of Honor. By a custom 
that began with Theodore Roosevelt, the Medal of Honor is to be 
presented by the President. That duty came to Harry S. Truman more than 
70 times. He often said that he'd rather wear the medal than to be the 
Commander in Chief. Some of you might have heard him say that. 
[Laughter] Perhaps you were also here on May 2, 1963, when John F. 
Kennedy welcomed 240 recipients of the Medal of Honor.
    By all rights, another President from Texas should have had the 
honor of conferring this medal. It was in the second year of Lyndon 
Johnson's Presidency that Army Captain Ed Freeman did something that the 
men of the 7th Cavalry have never forgotten. Years pass, even decades, 
but the memory of what happened on November 14, 1965, has always stayed 
with them.
    For his actions that day, Captain Freeman was awarded the 
Distinguished Flying Cross. But the men who were there, including the 
commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Crandall, felt a still 
higher honor was called for. Through the unremitting efforts of 
Lieutenant Colonel Crandall and many others, and the persuasive weight 
from Senator John McCain, the story now comes to its rightful 
conclusion.
    That story began with the battalion surrounded by the enemy in one 
of Vietnam's fiercest battles. The survivors remember the desperate fear 
of almost certain death. They remember gunfire that one witness 
described as the most intense he had ever seen. And they remember the 
sight of an unarmed helicopter coming to their aid.
    The man at the controls flew through the gunfire not once, not 10 
times, but at least 21 times. That single helicopter brought the water, 
ammunition, and supplies that saved many lives on the ground. And the 
same pilot flew more than 70 wounded soldiers to 
safety.
    In a moment, we will hear the full citation, in all its heroic 
detail. General Eisenhower once observed that when you hear a Medal of 
Honor citation, you practically assume that the man in question didn't 
make it out alive. In fact, about one in six never did. And the other 
five, men just like you all here, probably didn't expect to.
    Citations are also written in the most simple of language, needing 
no embellishment or techniques of rhetoric. They record places and names 
and events that describe themselves. The medal itself bears only one 
word, and needs only one: Valor.
    As a boy of 13, Ed Freeman saw thousands of men on maneuvers pass by 
his home in Mississippi. He decided then and there that he would be a 
soldier. A lifetime later, the Congress has now decided that he's even

[[Page 1045]]

more than a soldier, because he did more than his duty. He served his 
country and his comrades to the fullest, rising above and beyond 
anything the Army or the Nation could have ever asked.
    It's been some years now since he left the service and was last 
saluted. But from this day, wherever he goes, by military tradition, Ed 
Freeman will merit a salute from any enlisted personnel or officer of 
rank.
    Commander Severs, I now ask you to read this citation of the newest 
member of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. And it will be my 
honor to give him his first salute.

[At this point, Comdr. Paul J. Severs, USN, Navy Aide to the President, 
read the citation, and the President presented the medal.]

    The President. We'll see you for a reception. Thank you all for 
coming.

Note: The President spoke at 9:35 a.m. in the East Room at the White 
House.