Air Force master sergeant awarded Medal of Honor for heroism in Laos

Reporting from Washington — During a secret mission in Laos 42 years ago, Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Richard L. Etchberger repeatedly braved hostile fire as he helped three wounded airmen onto a helicopter after their radar station was surrounded by North Vietnamese soldiers.

Etchberger was the last to climb into the helicopter, but he was killed by ground fire as it took off. Etchberger’s heroic acts were kept secret until details about the Vietnam-era secret mission were released more than two decades later.

On Tuesday, President Obama awarded Etchberger the Medal of Honor. His three sons, who were told their father had died in a helicopter crash in Vietnam, accepted the award at a ceremony in the East Room of the White House.

“This medal reflects the gratitude of an entire nation,” Obama told Steve, Richard and Cory Etchberger. “Today your nation finally acknowledges and fully honors your father’s bravery.”

Etchberger was a radar technician from Hamburg, Pa. — one of 19 Americans handpicked to work at the remote station on one of Laos’ tallest mountains. The station, secret because it was outside the war zone, directed American pilots in the air campaign against North Vietnam.

Of the 19 men selected for the mission, seven survived the attack, three as a direct result of Etchberger’s actions.

“The enemy lobbed down grenade after grenade, hour after hour,” Obama said.

Etchberger and his comrades spent the night kicking and throwing the grenades down the mountain.

Despite being a technician with no formal combat training, Etchberger took charge during the attack and single-handedly defended the station while coordinating American airstrikes and directing rescue crews to the remote location.

“I had never seen my dad pick up a weapon,” Richard Etchberger, who was 10 when his father died, said after the ceremony.

The morning after the attack, a helicopter arrived to transport the remaining men to safety. Etchberger helped three men into rescue slings. John Daniel, one of the men Etchberger helped evacuate, was present for the ceremony.

Richard Etchberger said his father, who loved his job and the Air Force, would have been humbled by the award.

Etchberger was posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross in 1968, the highest honor the Air Force can bestow. Even then, Etchberger’s sons did not know the details of their father’s death.

Catherine Etchberger, who died before her husband was awarded the Medal of Honor, knew the details of his death but was sworn to secrecy.

“Our nation endures because there are patriots like Chief Master Sgt. Richard Etchberger,” Obama said.