President Obama will present the Medal of Honor to Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Richard L. Etchberger, who died March 11, 1968, while fending off attackers with an M-16 rifle while directing air strikes and rescue operations during the Vietnam War. He initially was awarded the Air Force Cross for his actions; a review board reopened his case two years ago and recommended that the award be upgraded. According to official and eyewitness accounts, Etchberger, of Hamburg, Pa., performed heroically during secret operations in an area of Laos known as Lima Site 85, saving three wounded comrades by ensuring they were hoisted into rescue helicopters. He was killed as the air crew was trying to pull him into the helicopter. “He should have a 55-gallon drum full of medals,” said retired Tech Sgt. John G. Daniel, 71, of La Junta, Colo., one of the men Etchberger rescued. “I wouldn’t be alive without him.”
