180507-F-IP109-0017

A replica of Chief Master Sgt. Richard Etchberger’s Medal of Honor sits on display during a presentation at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, May 7, 2018. The medal was awarded posthumously to Etchberger, who is the only E-9 of any U.S. military branch to receive the Medal of Honor. During the Vietnam War at Lima Site 85, in Laos, March 11, 1968, Etchberger’s entire crew lay dead or injured as he single-handedly held off the enemy with an M-16, while simultaneously directing air strikes and loading injured Airmen onto helicopter rescue slings, ultimately saving the lives of three of his comrades. With his remaining crew safely aboard, Etchberger climbed into an evacuation sling himself, only to be fatally wounded by enemy ground fire. The Etchberger family donated the original Medal of Honor for permanent display at the Enlisted Heritage Research Institute at Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, Gunter Annex, Alabama.