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WILLIAM H. PITSENBARGER

MOH Citation:

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

AIRMAN FIRST CLASS WILLIAM H. PITSENBARGER
UNITED STATES AIR FORCE

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.

Airman First Class Pitsenbarger distinguished himself by extreme valor on 11 April 1966 near Cam My, Republic of Vietnam, while assigned as a Pararescue Crew Member, Detachment 6, 38th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron.

On that date, Airman Pitsenbarger was aboard a rescue helicopter responding to a call for evacuation of casualties incurred in an ongoing firefight between elements of the United States Army’s 1st Infantry Division and a sizeable enemy force approximately 35 miles east of Saigon.

With complete disregard for personal safety, Airman Pitsenbarger volunteered to ride a hoist more than one hundred feet through the jungle, to the ground. On the ground, he organized and coordinated rescue efforts, cared for the wounded, prepared casualties for evacuation, and insured that the recovery operation continued in a smooth and orderly fashion.

Through his personal efforts, the evacuation of the wounded was greatly expedited. As each of the nine casualties evacuated that day was recovered, Airman Pitsenbarger refused evacuation in order to get more wounded soldiers to safety. After several pick-ups, one of the two rescue helicopters involved in the evacuation was struck by heavy enemy ground fire and was forced to leave the scene for an emergency landing. Airman Pitsenbarger stayed behind on the ground to perform medical duties. Shortly thereafter, the area came under sniper and mortar fire.

During a subsequent attempt to evacuate the site, American forces came under heavy assault by a large Viet Cong force. When the enemy launched the assault, the evacuation was called off and Airman Pitsenbarger took up arms with the besieged infantrymen. He courageously resisted the enemy, braving intense gunfire to gather and distribute vital ammunition to American defenders.

As the battle raged on, he repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire to care for the wounded, pull them out of the line of fire, and return fire whenever he could, during which time he was wounded three times. Despite his wounds, he valiantly fought on, simultaneously treating as many wounded as possible.

In the vicious fighting that followed, the American forces suffered 80 percent casualties as their perimeter was breached, and Airman Pitsenbarger was fatally wounded. Airmen Pitsenbarger exposed himself to almost certain death by staying on the ground, and perished while saving the lives of wounded infantrymen. His bravery and determination exemplify the highest professional standards and traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Air Force.

Today's Educational Sources and suggestions for further reading:

www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/history/rescue/rescue.htm www.homeofheroes.com www.cmohs.org/recipients www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/history/vietnam/pits-2.htm" www.sousaffs.org www.grc.nasa.gov

CholeraJoe

One of our own, FReeper Foxhole regular CholeraJoe, served part of his time in the military as a Flight Surgeon for the Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service.

That's CholeraJoe on the right assuming command of the 1st Strategic Hospital, Vandenberg AFB, CA, 2 July 1989.

After completion of the Aerospace Medicine Primary course in 1982, he returned to Eglin AFB, FL where he flew with the 55th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Wing and the 20th Special Operations Squadron of the 1st Special Operations Wing at nearby Hurlburt Field.

After temporary duty in Honduras in 1985, and several tours with Air Force Systems Command and Strategic Air Command, he assumed command of the 1st Strategic Hospital, Vandenberg AFB, CA on July 2, 1989. During this assignment he flew numerous missions with Detachment 8, 38th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron in support of missile launches, range safety, night recovery, and over-water rescue missions.

CholeraJoe's Military Honors include the Meritorious Service Medal with 3 oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the National Defense Service Medal with one bronze star, the Southwest Asia Service Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with 2 oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Organizational Excellence Award with one oak leaf cluster, the Air Force Recognition Ribbon and the Air Force Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon with one bronze star.

CholeraJoe's FR homepage

Governor Martz of Montana and CholeraJoe.

Thank you CholeraJoe for your Service.

Please join the Foxhole Thread today,share stories with us and have fun!

Today's classic warship, USS Concord (CL-10)

Omaha class light cruiser
Displacement: 7,050 t.
Length: 555’6”
Beam: 55’4”
Draft: 13’6”
Speed: 34 k.
Complement: 458
Armament: 12 6”; 4 3”; 10 21” torpedo tubes

The USS CONCORD (CL-10) was launched 15 December 1921 by William Cramp and Sons, Philadelphia, Pa.; sponsored by Miss H. Butterick; and commissioned 3 November 1923, Captain O. G. Murfin in command.

On her maiden cruise, between 23 November 1923 and 9 April 1924, CONCORD called at Mediterranean ports, passed through the Suez Canal to round the Cape of Good Hope, and exercised with the fleet in the Caribbean before returning to Philadelphia. As flagship of Commander, Destroyer Squadrons, Scouting Fleet, she cruised the Caribbean and sailed through the Panama Canal to exercise in the Hawaiian Islands in 1924 and 1925. Continuing to operate in the Atlantic, she joined in the Presidential Fleet Review taken by Calvin Coolidge on 4 June 1927.

Serving as flagship of Commander, Cruiser Division 3, Battle Force, CONCORD cruised the Pacific from her base at San Diego after early 1932, exercising in the Canal Zone and the Caribbean in 1934. She took part in Presidential Fleet Reviews taken by Franklin D. Roosevelt on 30 September 1935 and 12 July 1938, and joined in fleet exercises in the Hawaiian area, in the Canal Zone, and off Alaska. After operating on the east coast in the winter of 1938-39, she returned to Pacific operations, and from 1 April 1940 was based at Pearl Harbor for a training schedule which intensified as war came closer.

When the United States entered the war, CONCORD was at San Diego preparing for a shipyard overhaul which she completed early in February 1942. Assigned to the Southeast Pacific Force, she escorted convoys to Bora Bora in the Society Islands, exercised in the Canal Zone, and cruised along the coast of South America and to the islands of the southeast Pacific, serving from time to time as flagship of her force. Between 5 September and 24 November 1943, she carried Rear Admiral R. E. Byrd on a tour to survey the potential use of a number of southeast Pacific islands in national defense and commercial aviation. During this cruise, she suffered a gasoline explosion which killed 22 men, including her executive officer, and caused considerable damage, which was repaired at Balboa.

With repairs completed in March 1944, CONCORD set sail northward to join the Northern Pacific Force at Adak 2 April. Serving as TF 94's flagship at the beginning of this duty, she joined in bombardments of the Kuriles which continued at intervals until the close of the war, preventing effective use by the Japanese of their bases there. Harassing the northern shipping lanes of Japan, her force sank several small craft, and on 25 August 1944, the destroyers of the force made an attack on a Japanese convoy.

On 31 August 1945, CONCORD stood out from Adak, covered the occupation landings at Ominato, Japan between 8 and 14 September, and sailed on to Pearl Harbor, the Canal Zone, Boston, and Philadelphia, where she was decommissioned 12 December 1945 and sold for scrap 21 January 1947.

CONCORD received one battle star for World War II service.

On This Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on August 22:
1836 Archibald M Willard US, artist (Spirit of '76)
1862 Claude Debussy St Germain-en-Laye, composer (La Mer, Clair de lune)
1891 Francis McDonald Bowling Green Ky, actor (Will-Adv of Champion)
1893 Dorothy Parker US, short story writer (1958 Marjorie Peabody Award)
1895 Paul White Bangor Maine, composer (Adante & Rondo for Cello)
1900 Elizabeth Bergner Vienna Austria, actress (Catherine the Great)
1903 Ren‚ Wellek Vienna Austria, writer (Concepts of Criticism)
1904 Deng Xiaoping Chinese leader (1976-1983)
1908 Henri Cartier-Bresson, photographer.
1909 Mel Hein NFL center (NY Giants)
1911 Edith Atwater Chic, actress (Phyllis-Love on a Rooftop)
1917 John Lee Hooker Mississippi, blues musician (Boom Boom Boom)
1920 Dr Denton Cooley heart surgeon (1st artifical heart transplant)
1920 Ray Bradbury Ill, sci-fi author (Fahrenheit 451, Illustrated Man, The Martian Chronicles)
1922 Micheline Presle Paris, actress (Nea, Donkey Skin)
1926 Honor Blackman London, actress (Pussy Galore-Goldfinger)
1928 John Lupton Highland Park Ill, actor (Tom-Broken Arrow)
1928 Karlheinz Stockhausen M”drath, Germany, composer (Kontrapunkte)
1932 Gerald P Carr Denver Colorado, Col USMC/astronaut (Skylab 4)
1933 Sylvia Koscina actress (Jessica, Hercules)
1934 Diana Sands actress (Raisin in the Sun, Doctor's Wife)
1934 Norman Schwartzkopf NJ, US General (Liberated Kuwait from Iraq)
1935 Morton Dean Fall River Mass, TV newscaster (CBS, ABC)
1939 Carl Yastrzemski NY, Boston Red Sox great (1967 AL MVP, Hall of Fame)
1940 George Reinholt Phila, (Another World, One Life to Live)
1940 Valerie Harper Sufferin NY, (Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda, Valerie)
1942 Kathy Lennon Santa Monica Calif, singer (Lennon Sisters)
1945 James G Richardson Gainesville Fla, actor (Tim Cassidy-Sierra)
1945 Ron Dante Staten Island NY, rocker (Archies-Sugar, Sugar)
1947 Cindy Williams Van Nuys Calif, actress (Shirley-Laverne & Shirley)
1949 Diana Nyad swimmer (1st to swim Bahamas to Fla-1979)
1959 Juan Croucier heavy metal rocker (Ratt-Round & Round)
1961 Roland Orzabal singer (Tears for Fears-Shout, Head over Heels)
1963 Terry Catledge NBA star (Orlando Magic)
1964 Mats Wilander Sweden, tennis player (1988 US Open)
1966 Mark Michaels heavy metal guitarist (Teach Yourself Rhythm Guitar)

Deaths which occurred on August 22:
408 Flavius Stilicho, West Roman field leader
0634 Abd Allah Abu Bekr, Arabic merchant/1st caliph of Islam, dies
1485 Richard III, king of England (1483-85), killed in battle at 32
1818 Warren Hastings 1st governor-general of India (1773-84), dies at 85
1922 Michael Collins Sinn Fein leader, killed by rebels
1926 Charles William Elliot Pres of Harvard (1869-1909), dies at 92
1977 Sebastian Cabot actor (Mr French-Family Affair), dies at 59
1978 Jomo Kenyatta president of Kenya, dies at 83
1989 Black Panther co-founder Huey P. Newton was shot to death in Oakland, Calif.
1992 Vicki Weaver, murdered by an FBI sharpshooter, Lon Horiuchi.
1991 Colleen Dewhurst actress (Murphy Brown), dies of cancer at 67

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1967 KERR JOHN C. MIAMI FL.
1967 MORGAN BURKE H. MANITOU SPRINGS CO.
1968 ACOSTA-ROSARIO HUMBERTO MAYAQUEZ PR.
1972 CROCKETT WILLIAM J. COTTAGE CROVE NM.
1972 TIGNER LEE M. WASHINGTON DC.

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

On this day...
565 St Columba reported seeing monster in Loch Ness
1138 English defeated Scots at Cowton Moor -- Banners of various saints were carried into battle which led to it being called Battle of the Standard
1350 John II, also known as John the Good, succeeds Philip VI as king of France.
1454 Jews are expelled from Brunn Moravia by order of King Ladislaus
1485 Richard III slain at Bosworth Field-last of Plantagenets
1642 Civil war in England begins as Charles I declares war on Parliament at Nottingham.
1762 1st female (Ann Franklin) US newspaper editor, Newport RI, Mercury
1775 King George III proclaims colonies to be in open rebellion (DEAL WITH IT BABY)
1787 John Fitch's steamboat completes its tests, years before Fulton
1791 Haitian Revolution begins
1846 US annexes New Mexico
1851 Gold fields discovered in Australia
1851 Yacht "America" wins 1st Royal Yacht Squadron Cup (America's Cup)
1864 Geneva Convention signed, by 12 nations
1902 Pres Teddy Roosevelt became 1st US chief executive to ride in a car
1906 1st Victor Victrola manufactured
1910 Japan annexes Korea
1911 Mona Lisa stolen from Louvre
1917 Pitts Pirates play 4th straight extra inning game, Carson Bigbee sets record of 11 at-bats, they lose in 22 innings to Dodgers
1927 Babe Ruth hits 40th of 60 homers
1932 BBS begins experimental regular TV broadcasts
1934 Red Sox pitcher Wes Ferrell hits 2 HRs to beat White Sox 3-2 in 12
1945 Conflict in Vietnam begins when a group of Free French parachute into southern Indochina, in repsonse to a successful coup by communist guerilla Ho Chi Minh.
1947 1st college team to beat an NFL team (All Stars-16, Bears-0)
1950 Althea Gibson becomes 1st black competetor in natl tennis competition
1951 Harlem Globetrotters play in Olympic Stadium, Berlin before 75,052
1956 Pres Eisenhower & VP Nixon renominated by Rep convention in SF
1958 Argos' Boyd Carter, Dave Mann combine for record 131-yd punt return
1959 Cin Red Frank Robinson hits 3 consecutive HRs
1960 Gil Hodges set NL righty HR record with #352
1961 Maris hits his 50th of 61 homers
1963 NASA civilian test pilot Joe Walker in X-15 reaches 67 miles (106 km)
1965 SF Giant pitcher Juan Marachal hits LA Dodger catcher John Roseboro on the head with his bat causing a 14 minute brawl
1968 1st papal visit to Latin America (Pope Paul VI arrives in Bogota)
1968 Cynthia Lennon sues John Lennon for divorce on adultry
1969 Hurricane Camille strikes U.S. Gulf Coast kills 255
1979 200 black leaders, meet in NY, to support Andrew Young
1982 Gen Ariel Sharon urges Palestinians to discuss peaceful coexistence
1984 Evelyn Ashford of US ties world women's mark for 100 m, 10.76 sec
1984 Met pitcher Dwight Gooden becomes the 11th rookie to strikeout 200
1984 Rep convention in Dallas renominates Pres Reagan & VP Bush
1986 NASA announces tests designed to verify ignition pressure dynamics
1987 Madonna's "Who's "That Girl," single goes #1
1988 Australia unveils 1st platinum coin (Koala)
1988 NBC premieres "Later" with Bob Costas (1st guest Linda Ellerbee)
1989 1st complete ring around Neptune discovered
1989 Nolan Ryan strikes out his 5,000th batter
1990 Pres Bush calls up military reserves

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"
American Rebellion Day
Be an Angel Day

Religious Observances
RC : Memorial of the Queenship of Mary (Immaculate Heart)

Religious History
1670 In Massachusetts, English-born colonial missionary John Eliot, 66, founded an Indian church at Martha's Vineyard, with educated Indians Hiacoomes and Tackanash appointed pastor and teacher, respectively.
1800 Birth of Edward B. Pusey, English biblical scholar and Tractarian spokesman. A devoted church leader all his life, Pusey worked to establish religious orders in Anglicanism, founding in 1845 the first Anglican sisterhood.
1831 Birth of William H. Cummings, English musicologist. In 1855 he adapted a theme from Mendelssohn's "Festgesang," which afterward became the melody of the Christmas carol, "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing."
1948 The Amsterdam Assembly of the World Council of Churches convened (through Sept 4) to ratify the Constitution for this newly-formed experiment in organizational and global Christian unity.
1968 Pope Paul VI arrived in Colombia, making his the first-ever papal visit to South America.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

Thought for the day :
"Early to rise and ditto to bed, make a man healthy, but socially dead."

You might be a Human Resources director if...
you look at a Listerine bottle, and wonder what the American with Disabilities Act has to do with it.

Todays Murphys Law...
In nature, nothing is ever right. Therefore, if everything is going right ... something is wrong.

Cliff Clavin say's it's a little known fact that...
Mexico City is sinking at a rate of 6 to 8 inches a year because it’s built on top of an underground reservoir. Wells are drawing out more and more water for the city’s growing population of more than 15 million people