Hamburg in Berks County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Richard L. Etchberger
(Posthumous)
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 26, 2019
1. Richard L. Etchberger Marker
Inscription.
Richard L. Etchberger. (Posthumous). Chief Master Sergeant Richard L. Etchberger distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an opposing armed force on 11 March 1968. On this date, Sergeant Etchberger was manning a defensive position when the base was overrun by an enemy ground force. The enemy was able to deliver sustained and withering fire directly upon this position from higher ground. His entire crew dead or wounded, Sergeant Etchberger continued to return the enemys fire thus denying them access to his position during this entire period, Sergeant Etchberger continued to direct air strikes and call for air rescue on his emergency radio, thereby enabling the air evacuation force to locate the surrounded friendly element. When air rescue arrived, Sergeant Etchberger deliberately exposed himself to enemy fire in order to place his three surviving wounded comrades in the rescue slings permitting them to be airlifted to safety. As Sergeant Etchberger was finally being rescued, he was fatally wounded by enemy ground fire. His fierce defense which culminated in the supreme sacrifice of his life, saved not only the lives of his three comrades but provided for the successful evacuation of the remaining survivors of the base, through his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, and aggressiveness, Sergeant Etchberger reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.
Chief Master Sergeant Richard L. Etchberger distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an opposing armed force on 11 March 1968. On this date, Sergeant Etchberger was manning a defensive position when the base was overrun by an enemy ground force. The enemy was able to deliver sustained and withering fire directly upon this position from higher ground. His entire crew dead or wounded, Sergeant Etchberger continued to return the enemys fire thus denying them access to his position during this entire period, Sergeant Etchberger continued to direct air strikes and call for air rescue on his emergency radio, thereby enabling the air evacuation force to locate the surrounded friendly element. When air rescue arrived, Sergeant Etchberger deliberately exposed himself to enemy fire in order to place his three surviving wounded comrades in the rescue slings permitting them to be airlifted to safety. As Sergeant Etchberger was finally being rescued, he was fatally wounded by enemy ground fire. His fierce defense which culminated in the supreme sacrifice of his life, saved not only the lives of his three comrades but provided for the successful evacuation of the remaining survivors of the base, through his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, and aggressiveness, Sergeant Etchberger reflected
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the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.
Location. 40° 33.276′ N, 75° 59.211′ W. Memorial is in Hamburg, Pennsylvania, in Berks County. It is on State Street (Old U.S. Highway 22) west of North 2nd Street, on the right when traveling west. Marker is located in the Hamburg Veterans Memorial Park at this location, along with other war memorials. Touch for map. Memorial is in this post office area: Hamburg PA 19526, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this memorial is in Southeast Pennsylvania and specifically in Pennsylvania Dutch Country. It is also in the American Northeast and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
recommended for the Medal of Honor shortly after his death, but the nomination was rejected. The Lima Site mission was still classified at the time, and the U.S. was not supposed to have soldiers in Laos. Etchberger was instead awarded the second highest decoration, the Air Force Cross. It was only after the Lima Site mission had been declassified fourteen years after Etchberger's death that his sons learned their father's true fate. In the early 2000s, veterans of the Air Force's 1st Combat Evaluation Group began requesting that Etchberger's Air Force Cross be upgraded to the Medal of Honor. The upgrade was approved by Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donley in 2008, and by the U.S. Congress in 2009, spearheaded by the leadership of U.S. Congressman Tim Holden (D-PA) and the Lao Veterans of America in Washington, D.C. (Submitted on August 29, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
2. Richard L. Etchberger (Find a Grave). Served as Chief Master Sergeant United States Air Force assigned to the 1043d Radar Evaluation Squadron. He was stationed at the radar site, Lima 85 about 12 miles west of the Lao/NVN border in Phou Pha Thi, Laos. On September 21, 2010, Etchberger's Congressional Medal of Honor was posthumously awarded to his family by President Barack Obama at the White House. (Submitted on August 29, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 26, 2019
3. Richard L. Etchberger • Medal of Honor • Air Force Cross
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 26, 2019
4. Richard L. Etchberger Marker (wide view)
Marker is located among other war memorials in this Hamburg, Pennsylvania memorial park on old U.S. Highway 22.
Credits. This page was last revised on August 29, 2019. It was originally submitted on August 29, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 536 times since then and 25 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on August 29, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
