A well-deserved honor to an American hero:
Army attack helicopter pilot Larry Taylor scrambled to rescue a small patrol of soldiers surrounded by enemies on the ground in Vietnam, according to a dramatic account he and the men he helped save tell about the life-and-death moments more than five decades ago. …
More than 55 years later, Taylor's heroism will be recognized by President Joe Biden when he is awarded the Medal of Honor on Sept. 5, an upgrade from the Silver Star he originally received, the White House announced Friday.
(Yes, Joe Biden is almost certainly opting for this ceremony in part because it's re-election season. Taylor still deserves it, very much so.)
The thrilling Sept. 1968 rescue happened after a reconnaissance team found themselves surrounded north of Saigon. The men radioed for help, after which Taylor, a co-pilot and another Cobra crew flew out to extract them.
The team had "two minutes maximum to get off, strap in, turn the ship on, crank it up and get in the air and head in our direction," one of the soldiers said.
Arriving at the scene, Taylor told the soldiers below to pop a flare to give away their position. Needless to say, this alerted the enemy of their position, after which:
All hell broke loose.
Taylor's team managed to dodge the resulting crossfire, firing back at the enemies all the while; eventually the chopper began to run low on fuel and ammo. "No other help was coming" at that point, leading Taylor to make one last desperate gamble:
He and the other Cobra pilot fired their remaining rounds along the team's flanks. Taylor then switched on his gunship's landing lights to distract the hostiles as the team moved to an area he had designated 100 meters away.
The team made it while lobbing hand grenades — their last ammunition — to keep the enemy at bay. Taylor landed the chopper beside them, after which they grabbed onto the sides and skids of the bird. And then they were off.
Knowing the soaking-wet team would freeze on the outside of the chopper as it flew 150 miles through the night air, Taylor brought them to "the nearest viable spot … a water treatment plant occupied by American forces."
That's the kind of unblinking heroism that earns a man a Medal of Honor. Well done, soldier. ✊
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