|
|
|---|
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
William Hart Pitsenbarger
William Hart Pitsenbarger (July 8, 1944 – April 11, 1966) was a United States Air Force Pararescueman who gave his life aiding and defending a unit of soldiers pinned down by an enemy assault in Vietnam. He was initially posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross, which was later upgraded to the Medal of Honor. He was the first enlisted recipient of the Air Force Cross medal, receiving the award in 1966.
William Hart Pitsenbarger was born on July 8, 1944 and grew up in Piqua, Ohio, a small town near Dayton. When Bill Pitsenbarger was a junior in high school, he tried to enlist in the Army as a Green Beret, but his parents refused to give their permission. After he graduated from high school, he decided to join the Air Force. He was on a train bound for basic training on on New Year's Eve 1962.
After completing pararescue training, AFC Bill Pitsenbarger received orders in 1965 to report to Detachment 6, 38th Air Rescue and Recovery Squadron at Bien Hoa Air Base near Saigon. His unit was composed of five aircrews that flew three HH-43F Kaman Huskie helicopters, His commander, Maj. Maurice Kessler, called him "One of a special breed. Alert and always ready to go on any mission."
By April 1966, 21-year-old A1C William H. Pitsenbarger, then in the final months of his enlistment, had seen more action than many a 30-year veteran. Young Bill Pitsenbarger had gone through long and arduous training for duty as a pararescue medic with the Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service and had completed nearly 300 rescue missions in Vietnam, many of them under heavy enemy fire.
He wore the Air Medal with five oak leaf clusters; recommendations for four more were pending. A few days earlier, he had ridden a chopper winch line into a minefield to save a wounded ARVN soldier.
His service with ARRS convinced Bill Pitsenbarger that he wanted a career as a medical technician. He had applied to Arizona State University for admission in the fall. But that was months away. He had a job to do in Vietnam and, as rescue pilot Capt. Dale Potter said, Bill Pitsenbarger "was always willing to get into the thick of the action where he could be the most help."
"Pits", as he was known to his friends, was nearing his 300th combat mission on that fateful day.
On April 11 at 3 p.m., while Bill Pitsenbarger was off duty, a call for help came into his unit, Detachment 6, 38th ARR Squadron at Bien Hoa. Elements of the Army's 1st Infantry Division were surrounded by enemy forces near Cam My, a few miles east of Saigon, in thick jungle with the tree canopies reaching up to 150 feet. The only way to get the wounded out was with hoist-equipped helicopters. Bill Pitsenbarger asked to go with one of the two HH-43 Huskies scrambled on this hazardous mission.
Half an hour later, both choppers found an area where they could hover and lower a winch line to the surrounded troops. Bill Pitsenbarger volunteered to go down the line, administer emergency treatment to the most seriously wounded, and explain how to use the Stokes litter that would hoist casualties up to the chopper.
Bill Pitsenbarger was lowered through the trees to the ground where he attended to the wounded before having them lifted to the helicopter by cable. After six wounded men had been flown to an aid station, the two Air Force helicopters returned for their second load.
when some men of the U.S. Army's 1st Division were ambushed and pinned down in an area about 45 miles east of Saigon. Two HH-43 "Huskie" helicopters of the USAF's 38th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron were rushed to the scene to lift out the wounded. Bill Pitsenbarger was a pararescueman (PJ) on one of them. Upon reaching the site of the ambush, he was lowered through the trees to the ground where he attended to the wounded before having them lifted to the helicopter by cable. After six wounded men had been flown to an aid station, the two USAF helicopters returned for their second loads. As one of the helicopters lowered its litter basket to Bill Pitsenbarger, who had remained on the ground with the 20 infantrymen still alive, it was hit by a burst of enemy small-arms fire. When its engine began to lose power, the pilot realized he had to get the Huskie away from the area as soon as possible.
Instead of climbing into the litter basket so he could leave with the helicopter, Pits elected to remain with the Army troops under enemy attack and he gave a "wave-off" to the helicopter which flew away to safety. With heavy mortar and small-arms fire, the helicopters couldn't return to rescue the rescuer.
Bill Pitsenbarger knew the risks involved when he volunteered to drop into the midst of a jungle firefight.
Heavy automatic weapons and mortar fire was coming in on the Army defenders from all sides while Pitsenbarger continued to care for the wounded. In case one of the Huskies made it in again, he climbed a tree to recover the Stokes litter that his pilot had jettisoned. When the C Company commander, the unit Pitsenbarger was with, decided to move to another area.
As they started to move out, the company was attacked and overrun by a large enemy formation. For the next hour and a half, "Pits" continued to treat the wounded, hacking splints out of snarled vines and building improvised stretchers out of saplings.
By this time, the few Army troops able to return fire were running out of ammunition. Bill Pitsenbarger gave his pistol to a soldier who was unable to hold a rifle. and With complete disregard for his own safety, he scrambled around the defended area, collecting rifles and ammunition from the dead and distributing them to the men still able to fight.
The next morning, when Army reinforcements reached the C Company survivors, a helicopter crew brought William Pitsenbarger's body out of the jungle. When his body was recovered, his one hand still held a rifle and the other a medical kit.
Of the 180 men with whom he fought his last battle, only 9 were uninjured.
For his bravery and sacrifice, Airman First Class William Pitsenbarger was awarded posthumously; the nation's second highest military decoration, the Distingquished Flying Cross.
AFC William Pitsenbarger was the first airman to be posthumously awarded the Distingquished Flying Cross.
The Air Force Sergeants Association presents an annual award for valor in his honor.
The Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service is legendary for heroism in peace and war. No one better
exemplifies its motto, "That Others May Live," than Bill Pitsenbarger. He descended voluntarily into the hell of a jungle firefight with valor as his only shield - and valor was his epitaph.
Although Bill Pitsenbarger didn't escape alive, nine other men did, partially thanks to his courage and their devotion to duty.
Airman 1st Class William H. Pitsenbarger was posthumously awarded an upgrade from the Air Force Distingquished Flying Cross to the Medal OF Honor.
William Hart Pitsenbarger's Medal of Honor was presented to his father on his behalf on December 8, 2000.
The Medal of Honor was presented to his father, William F. Pitsenbarger, and his wife, Alice,by the Secretary of the Air Force Whit Peters, on December 8, 2000, at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. During the same ceremony he was also posthumously promoted to the rank of Staff Sergeant. The audience included battle survivors, hundreds of pararescue airmen, a congressional representative and the Air Force chief of staff.
William Hart Pitsenbarger is buried in Miami Memorial Park Cemetery, Covington, Ohio.
His grave can be found in plot 43-D, grave #2.
A motion picture titled "The Last Full Measure" is scheduled for a 2010 release. The film will tell the story of a bureaucrat who is given the task of finishing a long overdue report to determine if the nation's highest honor should be bestowed on Pitsenbarger decades after his supreme sacrifice.
Medal Of Honor
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March 3, 1963 has awarded in the name of the Congress the Medal of Honor posthumously to:
A1C WILLIAM H. PITSENBARGER
UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty near Cam My, April 11, 1966:
Rank and organization:
Airman First Class,
U.S. Air Force, Detachment 6,
38th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron,
Bien Hoa Air Base,
Republic of Vietnam.
Place and date:
Near Cam My,
April 11, 1966
Entered service at:
Piqua, Ohio
Born:
July 8, 1944,
Piqua, Ohio
Citation:
Airman First Class Pitsenbarger distinguished himself by extreme valor on April 11, 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 on-going firefight between elements of the United States Army's 1st Infantry Division and a sizable 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 were recovered, Pitsenbarger refused evacuation in order to get one more wounded soldier 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 which followed, the American forces suffered 80 percent casualties as their perimeter was breached, and airman Pitsenbarger was finally fatally wounded. Airman 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.
Honors and Awards
William Pitsenbarger was posthumously promoted to staff sergeant.
The United States Navy Container Ship MV A1C William H. Pitsenbarger (T-AK 4638) was christened in his honor. The ship will preposition Air Force ammunition at sea near potential war or contingency sites.
In addition several buildings have been named in his honor including William H. Pitsenbarger Dining Hall, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio; William H. Pitsenbarger Professional Military Education Center, Beale AFB, California; William H. Pitsenbarger Airman Leadership School, Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany; Pitsenbarger Hall, Randolph AFB, Texas and Pitsenbarger Fitness Center, Sheppard AFB, Texas.
His name can be found on Panel 06E Line 102 of the Vietnam Wall.
Civilian authorities have also honored his name. The city of Piqua, Ohio, renamed a recreational park (which includes the municipal swimming pool) the "Pitsenbarger Sports Complex."
The state of Ohio designated state route 48 as the "U.S.A.F. Pararescue Memorial Highway." The highway runs near the hometowns of four pararescuemen who died in service to their country. This includes Pitsenbarger; Sgt. Jim Locker of Sidney, Ohio; Master Sgt. William McDaniel II of Greenville, Ohio; and Airman 1st Class James Pleiman of Russia, Ohio.
In addition to being designated Main Street through the city of Dayton — where the Wright Brothers designed their airplane — state route 48 also runs along Miami Memorial Park north of Covington, Ohio, where all four are buried.
Edison Community College in Piqua, Ohio, awards the Pitsenbarger Scholarship to two full-time students per year who can show financial need.
The drill team of the AFJROTC unit at Martinsburg High School, Martinsburg WV is known as the Pitsenbarger Rifles.
The Community College of the Air Force (CCAF) awards a $500 Pitsenbarger Scholarship to the top 5% of
each graduating class that is currently enrolled in a Bachelors program and submits a competitive award nomination package.
0 Comments:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
