MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery is remembering a Congressional Medal of Honor winner on the 50th anniversary of his death during the Vietnam War.
A ceremony will be held Monday honoring Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Richard L. Etchberger of Hamburg, Pennsylvania.
Etchberger died during fighting in Laos on March 11, 1968. He is the only person of his rank to win the nation’s highest military honor.
A statue and memorial bench are being unveiled at Maxwell’s Non-Commissioned Officer School.
Etchberger was a radar technician manning a secret position that came under enemy attack. He won the medal for repeatedly exposing himself to enemy fire to save fellow troops.
Etchberger was fatally wounded after getting his remaining crew members aboard an evacuation helicopter. He was 35.