Ed Freeman

[ZenGum]

Having never served, it feels inappropriate for me to salute him, but I'll stand in silence for a minute.

And I notice ... 2008, 80 years old... he was 37 in 1965. Not some reckless "I'm bullet-proof" early twenties lad, but a guy who had been around long enough to get some sense and know what happens to people who take lots of risks... and he took them anyway, to save others. It doesn't get much braver than that.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Freeman, a Mississippi native who married an Idahoan, began his military career at 17 with a two-year stint in the Navy during World War II. "He joined the Navy and hated it. The ocean thing was not his bag," Mike Freeman said.

So he joined the Army, serving four years in Germany before getting deployed to the Korean conflict. He served as a Master Sergeant during the Korean War and was given a battlefield commission during the battle of Pork Chop Hill.

At that point in his career his dream was to attend flight school. However, because of his six foot four stature he was considered too tall. In 1965 the height limit was raised allowing Freeman to enroll fulfilling a lifelong dream. The nickname "Too Tall" stuck with him throughout his military career.

The rest is history.