Artie Eugene Grose, 88, of Edmond, passed away Sunday, January 29, 2017, at the Ansted Center in Ansted. There was an error deleting this problem. Army Sergeant Fred Navarro of Hutchins, Kansas was a squad leader in Charlie 2/16th. Captain Ronald Bachman piloted the primary HH-43, call sign "Pedro 97". He had been in combat in both World War II and Korea.". In his junior year of high school in his small town of 20,000, young William Pitsenbarger had tried to enlist in the Army's Special Forces to wear the coveted Green Beret. Airman Pitsenbarger arrived in Vietnam on August 8th and was assigned to Detachment 6, 38th Air Rescue and Recovery Squadron at Bien Hoa Air Base. Irene Pitsenbarger may have thought briefly about the many times her young son had given her reason for fright. Alice C Pitsenbarger : Abt 1913: 7 Jan 2000: Redfield IA: View Record. Airman Pitsenbarger exposed himself to almost certain death by staying on the ground, and perished while saving the lives of wounded infantrymen. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. Try again later. PJs were born out of the efforts of Lieutenant Colonel Don Fleckinger and two medical corpsmen who parachuted into remote jungles near the China-Burma border in August 1943 to rescue survivors from a disabled C-46. The surrounded Americans fought for hours and sustained several casualties. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? Pitsenbarger, a Piqua native, was born to William F. and Irene Pitsenbarger on July 8, 1944. He courageously resisted the enemy, braving intense gunfire to gather and distribute vital ammunition to American defenders. She was a homemaker. Pitsenbarger Medal of Honor Ceremony. He. 0 cemeteries found in Covington, Miami County, Ohio, USA. William Pitsenbarger's Background A1C Pitsenbarger, an Ohio native, is one of three Medal of Honor Recipients from Piqua, Ohio. They tried to leave the area, but they were attacked by the large Viet Cong force. So thick is the top layer, often rising over 150 feet upwards, that sunlight never reaches the vegetation at ground level. The firefight was at Cam My, in the Republic of Vietnam, about 35 miles east of Saigon. He trained with members of the Army at Fort Benning, Georgia to earn his jump wings. In the Spring of 1962, William Pitsenbarger graduated from high school. based on information from your browser. PIQUA The Piqua and surrounding community came out in . Fred Navarro, a man whose life William Pitsenbarger saved -. In a ceremony held at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force on Dec. 8, 2000, Secretary of the Air Force F. Whitten "Whit" Peters presented the Medal of Honor to the parents, William F. and Alice Pitsenbarger, of Airman 1st Class William F. Pitsenbarger. Reports say that watching soldiers were stunned when they saw Pitsenbarger being lowered to the ground. The worst was yet to come for Charlie Company. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. Iowa Death Records, 1904-1942 from FamilySearch/free with registration; includes images of the death certificates Detachment 6 consisted of five aircrews that flew three HH-43F Kaman Huskie helicopters. You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial. He examined Pitsenbargers body and found that he had four wounds. Before his death, he helped save over 60 men in the battle. Drag images here or select from your computer for William Franklin Pitsenbarger memorial. The two Huskies then turned towards the field aid station 7 miles away near the village of Binh Ba. Plant a tree in memory of Lenie An environmentally friendly option Plant a tree 1 tree planted in memory of Lenie A Pitsenbarger. Sporadic sniper fire picked at the men of Charlie, 2/16th throughout the day, but no one could have predicted how intense the enemy fire would become as morning gave way to afternoon. William Hart Pitsenbarger as a boy was determined to become an elite warrior. His experience expedited the process of getting the wounded soldier into the stokes litter and a fourth casualty was being hauled skyward. File; File history; File usage on Commons; Metadata; Size of this preview: 800 525 pixels. On that day, the Medal of Honor was presented to William F. Pitsenbarger for the courageous military service of his deceased son, Airman 1st Class William H. Pitsenbarger, United States Air Force. The Air Force rescue craft with their twin rotors was not as trim in appearance as the "Dustoffs" used by the Army for evacuating their own wounded. One round fell short, detonating in the top of the jungle canopy and raining deadly shrapnel on Sergeant Robinson's platoon. When his basic training was complete, he volunteered for Air Force Pararescue duty. The drill team of the AFJROTC unit at Martinsburg High School, Martinsburg WV is known as the Pitsenbarger Rifles. Their sonthat's what this was all about. Airman First Class Pitsenbarger distinguished himself by extreme valor on 11 April 1966 near Cam My, Republic of Vietnam, while assigned as a Pararescue Crew Member, Detachment 6, 38th Aerospace . The Viet Cong withdrew and we called in artillery fire. While fighting in the Battle of Xa Cam My some 35 miles east of Saigon, 21-year-old Airman First Class William H. Pitsenbarger was killed in action. Brother of Frances Winifred McMaster and Loren Elwood Pitsenbarger. (Note: Only the US Air Force HH43 Huskie helicopter could rescue wounded from the jungle. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request, There is an open photo request for this memorial. Among those restored to safety was Eric Severeid, who would go on to become a well-known news commentator. Two Air Force Huskies were quickly airborne and moving east to find and extract the wounded soldiers of Charlie Company. Learn more about merges. For his actions, he was given the Airmans Medal by the United States; South Vietnam gave him the Vietnam Medal of Military Merit and the Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Bronze Palm. By. During most of the missions the rescues were conducted under fire from enemy forces. The subsequent review determined that the level of voluntary heroism displayed by the 21-year old PJ in the jungles of Vietnam was more in keeping with the levels of valor reflected by the Medal of Honor. On the ground, Pits signaled for the penetrator. With complete disregard for his personal safety, Airman Pitsenbarger voluntarily rode a rescue hoist more than one-hundred feet to the ground and organized and coordinated rescue efforts at the scene. Airman Pitsenbarger repeatedly exposed himself to intensive automatic fire while gathering rifles and ammunition from fallen comrades which he passed among the defenders. He noticed the stokes litter caught high in the jungle canopy. He courageously resisted the enemy, braving intense gunfire to gather and distribute ammunition (from dead and wounded soldiers) to American defenders. Of the 134 soldiers in Charlie Company at the beginning ofOperation Abilene, there were 106 casualties. The frightened bear performed an about-face and fled. After he graduated from high school, he decided to join the U.S. Air Force, and on New Year's Eve 1962, he was on a train bound for basic training in San Antonio. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. First Lt. Kenneth Anderson, of Nashville, Tenn. said snipers kept firing from the trees. Mildred was of the Baptist faith. We moved into a perimeter. Lenie A Pitsenbarger Willoughby, Ohio March 26, 1973 - September 1, 2021 Obituary & Events Share a memory of Lenie A Pitsenbarger. The father shed tears. Upon completing his first TDY assignment, he volunteered to return and received orders in 1965 to report to Detachment 6, 38th Air Rescue and Recovery Squadron at Bien Hoa Air Base near Saigon. He personally saved over sixty men. IN THE CARE OF. "It was horrible," said Pfc Ronald Haley, as he stood in the tiny clearing blasted from the jungle so that the dead and wounded could be evacuated. My own platoon medic, who was later killed, was totally ineffective. The enemy fire reached out to tear flesh and the medic fell to the ground. This action earned him the Airman's Medal and the Republic of Vietnam's Medal of Military Merit and Gallantry Cross with Bronze Palm.[4]. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, All Major Military Award Recipients (PDF). His medical training had served him well, so well in fact, that he had applied to Arizona State University to study to become a medical technician or male nurse upon completion of his Air Force tour of duty a couple of months hence. He wanted to enlist in the Army when he was junior high, but his parents did not allow him. As darkness began to fall, he disappeared for about 10 minutes, returning to the area receiving the heaviest enemy fire with 20 or more magazines of ammunition he had scrounged from among the dead. Even without looking the young infantry sergeant knew what had happened. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. 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. One cannot judge the young men who reacted to the horrible events of April 11th with fear and panic. Pitsenbarger was the 59th Medal of Honor recipient, and sixth enlisted recipient, from the Air Force and its predecessor organizations.[4]. In 2004, an Ohio Historical Society marker honoring Pitsenbarger was placed along Riverside Drive (State Route 66 at Broadway). This is a carousel with slides. The rescue effort took on new efficiency with an experienced man on the ground. said Haley, one of the few survivors. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. In a ceremony held at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force on Dec. 8, 2000, Secretary of the Air Force F. Whitten "Whit" Peters presented the Medal of Honor to the parents, William F. and Alice Pitsenbarger, of Airman 1st Class William F. Pitsenbarger. When the company was ordered to move a short distance, the intrepid Airman began cutting branches to improvise litters to transport the wounded. In one lifeless hand Pits still held his M-16 rifle. -. William Pitsenbarger loved his job. Shortly thereafter, the area came under sniper and mortar fire. On December 2, 1950, she married William "Virgil" Pitsenbarger, who preceded her in death. No sane man could live through such a nightmare without such emotion. With heavy mortar and small-arms fire, the helicopters could not return to rescue Pitsenbarger. On the ground, things had gone from bad to worse. Mr. Pitsenbarger was a member of St. Paul Independent Lutheran Church. Your Scrapbook is currently empty. Pitsenbarger, an airman 1st class at the time, originally was awarded the Air Force Cross in 1966. In Vietnam Airman 1st Class William H. "Bill" Pitsenbarger gave his life so that others might live. In time, Pits became an Air Force legend not so much for what his citation said about his actions that day in April 1966, but for the details, it did not include! 27881355, citing Miami Memorial Park Cemetery, Covington, Miami County, Ohio, USA ; Maintained by Pam Estes gedmatch# T131729 (contributor 46799761) . Indeed, after escorting the badly damaged Pedro 73 to an emergency landing, Captain Bachman and his team returned. In 1945, in the era of the U.S. Army Air Forces, a Boeing B-29 Superfortress crewman, Henry Erwin, was awarded the medal for saving his crew and aircraft on a bombing run over Japan. When the enemy launched the assault, the evacuation was called off and Airman Pitsenbarger took up arms with the besieged infantrymen. They forbade it, but after graduating in 1962 he enlisted in the Air Force. Edit Search New Search. Lieutenant Libs strained his eyes against the unexpected sight. Weapons are not permitted including pocket knives and firearms, to include conceal carry and other dangerous weapons. The company, part of the 2nd Battalion, 16th Regiment was moving through the jungles northeast of Binh Gia on a routine-patrol. More than 30 years later, Pentagon investigator Scott Huffman probes a Medal of Honor request for Pits made by his family and his friends . For Mr. and Mrs. William Pitsenbarger, the September 22, 1966 visit to the home of America's military men and women had all the elements of culture shock. Jim Locker (Sidney) and A1C James Pielman (Russia). Next to him, the wounded Sergeant Navarro was struggling to stay alive and to resist. Seven of his 10-man squad had already been killed in action. Try again later. He was frozen with fear, unable to move. The Last Full Measure is about real-life Vietnam War hero William H. Pitsenbarger who tragically died at the age of 21 during a rescue mission in 1966 after saving countless lives during the war. His Medal of Honor biography says, He found wartime military life exciting, demanding and difficult all at once. Arriving with the Army's CH47 helicopters on Tuesday morning was the only operable Huskie from Detachment 6. Pitsenbargers Medal of Honor citation says, When the enemy launched the assault, the evacuation was called off and Airman Pitsenbarger took up arms with the besieged infantrymen. 1928 - 2017. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. With complete disregard for personal safety, Airman Pitsenbarger volunteered to ride a hoist more than one hundred feet through the jungle, to the ground. DoD image must be made in compliance with guidance found at It was placed by The Valley of the Jolly Green Giants and the Ohio Historical Society. During his basic training in early 1963, he volunteered for Pararescue. When he found the bodies of American boys that could not be saved, he gathered weapons and ammunition to distribute among those who could still fight. We have set your language to The roadway honors four local USAF Pararescuemen who died in battle. To use this feature, use a newer browser. Even as a lad he had flirted with danger, taking his childhood games like "follow the leader" to the ledges of the highest buildings or the limbs of the tallest trees. Just one month prior to the Easter Sunday beginning ofOperation Abilene, Major Bernard Francis Fisher became the first person to earn the newly designed Air Force Medal of Honor. But both were proud." Year should not be greater than current year. All Web: Obituary Daily Times Index, 1995-2016 results for Pitsenbarger. Individuals are permitted to take their own photographs or videos while touring the museum. Please try again later. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. Under the guidance of the brave PJ, the infantrymen were able to quickly send two more stokes patients to safety. Like nothing could hurt him. Mary was born on April 11 1834, in West Virginia, USA. Beneath was the body of his friend, Pararescue medic William Pitsenbargershot four times. Henry Pitsenbarger, . After unloading at Binh Ba, Pedro 73 diverted to refuel while Captain Bachman and Pedro 97 returned for the fifth pick-up of the day. He described the forerunners of the Pararescue program as "Gallant". An official website of the United States government, National Museum of the United States Air Force, All visitors may be screened with a metal detector upon entry. Leave a sympathy message to the family in the guestbook on this memorial page of Joseph E. Pitsenbarger to show support. Somehow, through sheer force of determination, he continued forwardfalling only after reaching an effective range and throwing the two grenades to destroy the enemy position. The decoration was upgraded to. ), Pitsenbarger decided that he could speed things up if he could get to the ground. While still in high school, he wanted to join the U.S. Army Special Forces ("The Green Berets"), but his parents, Irene and William Frank Pitsenbarger forbade it. In the midst of sudden death and unrestrained terror, Sergeant Robinson began moving among the men to organize defensive fire and inspire confidence. Part of Pitsenbarger uniform is on display in the Southeast Asia Gallery of the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton. He turned to his machine gunner and said, "That guy coming out of the helicopter from above, in an Air Force uniform, must be out of his mind to leave his not-so-safe helicopter for the inferno on the ground." Despite his wounds, he valiantly fought on, simultaneously treating as many wounded as possible. 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