Family prepares for Medal of Honor

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. David Byron
  • Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
WASHINGTON (AFNS) --  Three men, along with their families and friends, travelled to the nation's capital to take part in an important correction to Air Force history.

Steve Wilson, Cory Etchberger and Richard Etchberger attended a ceremony at the White House Sept. 21 where their late father, Chief Master Sgt. Richard Etchberger, posthumously received the Medal of Honor from President Barack Obama.

Chief Etchberger had originally received an Air Force Cross for his actions during the Vietnam War.

He was assigned to the then-highly classified "Heavy Green" mission providing radar support allowing U.S. bombers to strike Hanoi, Vietnam, the surrounding area and the Ho Chi Minh Trail in all types of weather.

The mission was highly sensitive due to its operating from a hilltop in Laos, which was considered a neutral country during the Vietnam War, although both U.S. and North Vietnamese forces often operated within it.

The radar site, Lima Site 85, was attacked by North Vietnam Army special forces March 11, 1968.

After holding off attacking forces with his crew overnight, Chief Etchberger exposed himself to enemy fire while securing three of his wounded colleagues to a sling to be hoisted aboard a hovering rescue helicopter. When he finally made it aboard himself, an NVA soldier fired on the helicopter.

The chief was mortally wounded and died en route to their home base in Thailand.

"We were sitting at the dining room table. My mother received a phone call, and she took the phone off the wall, and about a minute later started crying," said Cory Etchberger. "She broke the news to my brother Richard and me that he'd been killed.

"We had just gotten done eating, and she served us strawberry shortcake," he continued. "I've never eaten strawberry shortcake since then."

His family was brought to the Pentagon nine months later to attend a private ceremony awarding the Air Force Cross. Kay Etchberger, the chief's wife, was told it would be upgraded to the Medal of Honor once the secrecy and political sensitivities surrounding the mission eased.

His friends and family were kept in the dark regarding the actual circumstances surrounding his death.

"We were told that he died in a helicopter crash," Cory said. "Our mother knew what really happened."

When Chief Etchberger and his teammates volunteered for the special mission, they and their wives were brought to the Pentagon, briefed on the mission and sworn to secrecy. The wives were briefed due to unusual circumstances surrounding the mission.

Mrs. Etchberger maintained that secret until it was declassified in 1986.

"She kept that promise to my father and the Air Force for 18 years," Cory said.

The chief's stepson, Steven Wilson, said he had doubts about the official story early on.

Steven had joined the Air Force and was serving as an aircraft mechanic at Norton Air Force Base, Calif., at the time of the incident.

The chief had stopped to visit Steven and his then-pregnant wife on his way to Southeast Asia for the mission.

"On a Saturday morning, all of a sudden, there was a knock on the door and he was there," Steven said. "We spent Saturday and Sunday together before he left on the mission."

Chief Etchberger took them to Disneyland, the first time they had been there, and then he left without saying anything about the mission.

Steven said the events to come would have a profound effect on him.

"The same day I was told he was killed, was the day my daughter was born," Steven said. "I had just come out of the hospital and called my mother. About two hours later, she called me back with the news.

"I was real conflicted as far as my emotions," he continued. "I didn't ask any more questions about it."

But, Steven said he pretty much knew it wasn't just a helicopter crash that had killed his stepfather.

He said he knew there was more to it than they were being told, based on his knowledge of how the military worked and knowing the kind of man the chief was.

His suspicions were further heightened once he was brought to the Pentagon for the Air Force Cross ceremony.

He said a general told him it would have been a Medal of Honor if it weren't for where it took place.

Steven said he thought it would be unlikely for someone to receive an Air Force Cross, much less the Medal of Honor for simply dying in a helicopter crash.

He learned the truth following a phone call in 1986.

"My mother got a phone call ... and I just happened to be visiting and answered the phone," Steven said. "They had declassified the mission."

After the call, Steven said, his mother pulled him and Cory, who was also visiting at the time, to the table and told them the truth.

"When I found out what he did, I wasn't surprised," Steven said. "I knew the kind of person he was. It wouldn't have been out of character for him at all to take care of his men."

Chief Etchberger's care for his men wasn't limited to the combat zone.

"My Dad would bring wounded guys home for the holidays," said Richard Etchberger. "Being a 10-year-old kid, I thought it was just nice someone was able to come over and have some turkey. At some level, I thought that maybe the hospital food was so bad that these guys just had lousy food.

"I now understand, it was on a level totally different than that," he explained. "My Dad was trying to provide comfort for these guys. It was very inspirational for me."

Richard said he now understands why his father did certain things in his life.

"He was a hero, and he always thought about his men first," he said. "He was able to take care of them as best he could on that mountain."

But while Richard recognizes his father's legacy, he said he also remembers him as a father.

"I would love to sit down with my Dad and have a beer," he explained. "Because I know he was a really great Air Force guy, but he was also a pretty cool dad."

Richard said he carries on what he learned from his father to his own daughter.

"When I think about whether I'm using a good parenting skill, more often than not, I don't run to the Internet to Google something," he said. "I wonder about what my Dad would do in this situation."

He said he also hopes others may learn from his father.

"I think the recognition he's getting for this is something that I hope will inspire other people," he said.

Richard also said he knows exactly what he would say to his father at the ceremony if he could: "I love you."