Hometown: Piqua, OH
Branch: U.S. Air Force
Unit: Detachment 6, 38th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, 7th Air Force
Military Honors: Medal of Honor, Air Force Cross, Air Medal, Purple Heart
Date of Sacrifice: April 11, 1966 - KIA near Xa Cam My, Phuoc Tuy Province, Republic of Vietnam
Age: 21
Conflict: Vietnam War, 1959-1975
An only child, William H. Pitsenbarger was born on July 8, 1944, in Piqua, Ohio. With just over 16,000 inhabitants, Piqua was a hub of textile manufacturing located 80 miles north of Cincinnati.
Young William knew at an early age that he wanted to serve his country. As a junior at Piqua Central High School, William wanted to leave school early to join the U.S. Army—with a dream of becoming an elite Special Forces Green Beret.
His parents, William F. “Frank” and Irene (Hart) Pitsenbarger, had other ideas. Without their permission, 17-year-old William would have to wait until he graduated high school. He was still set on military service after graduating from high school in 1962, but instead of the Army, Pitsenbarger enlisted in the United States air Force.
The National Museum of the United States Air Force describes his training:
…Pitsenbarger learned his military skills in a series of demanding schools. After Air Force basic training, he volunteered for pararescue work and embarked on a rigorous training program, which included U.S. Army parachute school, survival school, a rescue and survival medical course, and the U.S. Navy’s scuba diving school. More Air Force rescue training and jungle survival school followed. His final training was in air crash rescue and firefighting, with assignment to the HH-43 Huskie helicopter.
Arrival in Vietnam
Airman First Class Pitsenbarger was sent to Vietnam in August 1965, assigned to Detachment 6, 38th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, 7th Air Force stationed at Bien Hoa Air Base in South Vietnam.
Pitsenbarger’s Detachment 6 flew HH-43F Huskie helicopters, tasked with recovering downed airmen and injured ground troops. He completed more than 250 missions, including one incident where he hung from a cable to rescue an allied South Vietnamese soldier in a burning minefield. The action earned A1C Pitsenbarger the Airman’s Medal.
Rescue under fire
In late March 1966, the U.S. Army launched Operation Abilene east of Saigon. In the thick jungles of South Vietnam’s Phuoc Tuy Province, one of the bloodiest engagements of the operation took place near the village of Cam My.
Pitsenbarger had been in Vietnam nearly 8 months and was planning to leave the U.S. Air Force when his commitment was completed. He applied to Arizona State University, where he hoped to continue his medical training and become a nurse.
On April 11, 1966, an American infantry company of 134 soldiers, “Charlie Company,” was surrounded by some 500 enemy Viet Cong forces. In what became known as “The Battle of Xa Cam My,” Charlie Company was pinned down and suffered 80% casualties.
Detachment 6 responded to an urgent call for help, sending in two HH-43F Huskies. According to the Air Force:
Army helicopters could not land in the battle zone because there were no clearings in the tall, dense “triple canopy” forest. The tallest trees rose 150 feet, and a second layer stood at about 100 feet, with a third layer below. Only U.S. Air Force HH-43 Huskie helicopters with cables and winches could hoist the injured from the jungle.
As the rescue and survival specialist aboard Pedro 73, one of the two Huskies on the mission, A1C Pitsenbarger volunteered to be lowered to the ground to help. He descended a hundred feet into the firefight with a medical bag, a supply of splints, a rifle, and a pistol.
His self-sacrifice and courage under fire would earn him the Air Force Cross, later upgraded to the Congressional Medal of Honor. His Medal of Honor citation describes what happened that day:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. 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 Rescue and Recovery Squadron.
On that date, Airman Pitsenbarger was aboard a rescue helicopter responding to a call for evacuation of casualties incurred in an ongoing firefight between elements of the United States Army's 1st Infantry Division and a sizeable enemy force approximately 35 miles east of Saigon.
With complete disregard for personal safety, Airman Pitsenbarger volunteered to ride a hoist more than one hundred feet through the jungle, to the ground. On the ground, he organized and coordinated rescue efforts, cared for the wounded, prepared casualties for evacuation, and ensured that the recovery operation continued in a smooth and orderly fashion. Through his personal efforts, the evacuation of the wounded was greatly expedited.
As each of the nine casualties evacuated that day was recovered, Airman Pitsenbarger refused evacuation in order to get more wounded soldiers to safety. After several pick-ups, one of the two rescue helicopters involved in the evacuation was struck by heavy enemy ground fire and was forced to leave the scene for an emergency landing. Airman Pitsenbarger stayed behind on the ground to perform medical duties. Shortly thereafter, the area came under sniper and mortar fire.
During a subsequent attempt to evacuate the site, American forces came under heavy assault by a large Viet Cong force. When the enemy launched the assault, the evacuation was called off and Airman Pitsenbarger took up arms with the besieged infantrymen. He courageously resisted the enemy, braving intense gunfire to gather and distribute vital ammunition to American defenders.
As the battle raged on, he repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire to care for the wounded, pulled them out of the line of fire, and return fire whenever he could, during which time he was wounded three times. Despite his wounds, he valiantly fought on, simultaneously treating as many wounded as possible. In the vicious fighting that followed, the American forces suffered 80 percent casualties as their perimeter was breached, and Airman Pitsenbarger was fatally wounded.
Airman Pitsenbarger exposed himself to almost certain death by staying on the ground, and perished while saving the lives of wounded infantrymen. His bravery and determination exemplify the highest professional standards and traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Air Force.
According to one Charlie Company survivor, Fred Navarro, in the middle of that intense firefight “Pits” put nine wounded soldiers on litters to be hoisted up. Navarro himself was wounded and recalls that Pitsenbarger “took his armored vest off of himself and put it on my chest.”
The Pedro 73 was raked by enemy ground fire and had to withdraw. The pilot signaled to Pitsenbarger to return on the lowered cable, but “Pits” waived him off twice—instead choosing to stay behind on the ground, tend to the wounded, and run ammo to the desperate remnant of Charlie Company still fighting off the enemy.
Despite being hit in the back, shoulder, and thigh Pitsenbarger kept working and fighting until a fatal round struck him in the head. At the age of 21, A1C William H. Pitsenbarger sacrificed his life in a full demonstration of the pararescueman’s motto: “That Others May Live.”
Honors and Memorials
Pitsenbarger was posthumously promoted to the rank of staff sergeant and awarded the Air Force Cross. It would take 34 years and a persistent effort from Battle of Xa Cam My survivors to upgrade his Air Force Cross to a Congressional Medal of Honor. That effort, and Pitsenbarger’s actions, are depicted in the 2019 feature film The Last Full Measure.
In 1983, the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command dedicated one of its container ships Motor Vessel (MV) A1C William H. Pitsenbarger (T-AK-4638) in his honor.
A statue by Ohio sculptor Mike Major was dedicated in 2015, in Pitsenbarger’s hometown of Piqua, Ohio.
The Air & Space Forces Association distributes Pitsenbarger Awards, providing scholarships for deserving Airmen and Guardians to pursue a bachelor’s degree.
Staff Sergeant William H. Pitsenbarger is honored at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C., where his name is inscribed on Panel 06E, Line 102.
Sources
National Museum of the United States Air Force: Airman 1st Class William H. Pitsenbarger
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund: Heroic Story of William H. Pitsenbarger Told in ‘The Last Full Measure’
Dayton Daily News, Jan. 1, 2020: Local war hero was subject of 2020 Hollywood movie
WBUR: 'The Last Full Measure' Tells Story Of Hero In Vietnam War
Congressional Medal of Honor Society: William Hart Pitsenbarger
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Pitsenbarger, Medal of Honor
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund: William Pitsenbarger
CBS News: A promise fulfilled: Filming a story of heroism in battle
Burial Site: Find a Grave
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