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Retired
Lt. Col. Hal Salem (from left), Alice Pitsenbarger, retired Chief
Master Sgt. Roy Boudreaux and William Chivalette view the display
honoring Airman 1st Class William Pitsenbarger at the Air Force
Enlisted Heritage Research Institute at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
(Photo by Carl Bergquist) | High-res
version of this photo |
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Enlisted institute unveils
Pitsenbarger exhibit
by
Carl Bergquist 07/01/02 - MAXWELL
AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. (AFPN) -- A new display honoring an Air
Force hero was recently unveiled at the Air Force Enlisted Heritage
Research Institute here.
The display
honors Airman 1st Class William Pitsenbarger, who died April 11,
1966, near Cam My, Vietnam. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of
Honor for "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk to
life and beyond the call of duty." During the
unveiling ceremony, Chief Master Sgt. David Hamel, director of the
Air Force Enlisted Heritage Research Institute, said 108 of 136 men
engaged in the firefight that day at Cam My lost their lives, and it
could have been worse had it not been for Pitsenbarger's heroic
efforts. Retired Lt.
Col. Hal Salem, pilot of the HH-43 helicopter Pitsenbarger was
assigned to in Vietnam, said the rescue mission April 11 took them
directly into one of the "fiercest firefights" of the war. When problems
arose during the attempted rescue of a wounded Army soldier,
Pitsenbarger asked Salem to lower him to the jungle floor so he
could organize a ground rescue attempt. Salem said he agreed to do
it on the condition that Pitsenbarger return to the helicopter as
soon as he had the situation under control, said Salem. Once on the
ground and amidst total chaos, Pitsenbarger attended to wounded
soldiers. Within an hour and a half, Pitsenbarger was dead. Though
seriously wounded, Pitsenbarger was credited with saving the lives
of at least six members of U.S. Army Charlie Company that day. "You had
to hold down his exuberance," said Salem. "He was afraid
of nothing." Salem said
Pitsenbarger, or "Pits,” would be very proud of the exhibit
and glad that his efforts made people aware of the assistance the
Air Force provided Army troops in Vietnam. "Pits
believed in our mission to save people," Salem said. "And
he worked hard at it." "Pits was
a character," said Roy Boudreaux, his Vietnam roommate.
Boudreaux said he means no disrespect in that comment; it was just
that Airman Pitsenbarger was a mischievous, fun-loving young man
from Piqua, Ohio, who "loved cold beer, raw oysters, his
skateboard and country music." "Billy was
from a patriotic family," said Alice Pitsenbarger, his
stepmother. "He and his father, Frank, raised the flag every
day, and he was very special to his dad." She said her
stepson loved the outdoors and was a "very determined young
man" who joined the Air Force right out of high school. "Billy has
to be looking down on us today," she said. William
Chivalette, Enlisted Heritage Hall curator, said he first envisioned
the exhibit more than six years ago. It shows Pitsenbarger kneeling
next to and treating an Army soldier. In the interest of
authenticity, Chivalette spent much of the past six years procuring
Vietnam-era artifacts such as knives, uniforms and canteens. The
display incorporates vines similar to those found in the jungles of
Vietnam and a painting portraying the firefight as the backdrop.
(Courtesy of Air Education and Training Command News Service) Note added
by webmaster:
The following Pararescuemen attended this event: Below is the brochure passed out at the event. Click the
thumbnail for a larger photo.
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Below are some photos from the ceremony. These photos and the brochure were provided by Harry O'Bernie. Click on the thumbnail for a larger photo.
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