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Home > Fact Sheets > SSgt. William H. Pitsenbarger News Release
SSGT. WILLIAM H. PITSENBARGER NEWS RELEASE
Medal of Honor to be awarded to Piqua, Ohio, native
DAYTON, Ohio - A native of Piqua, Ohio, will be posthumously awarded the military's highest honor during a ceremony at the United States Air Force Museum here Dec. 8.
Airman 1st Class William H. Pitsenbarger, a pararescueman killed in action during the Vietnam War, will become the service's second enlisted Medal of Honor recipient since the Air Force became a separate service in 1947.
Pitsenbarger will be awarded the Medal of Honor for treating wounded soldiers, despite coming under intense enemy fire and being mortally wounded himself, during a battle April 11, 1966, outside Saigon, the Republic of Vietnam.
For his actions that day, Pitsenbarger, a veteran of 300 rescue missions, was awarded the Air Force Cross, the second highest award for valor, and the highest award the Air Force can bestow.
At the time of the original award, so many of the eyewitnesses were wounded or killed in action there was not enough information available for the Defense Department to accurately assess Pitsenbarger's bravery and justify award of the Medal of Honor.
Subsequent eyewitness reports, developed during the 1990s, led senior Air Force leaders to conclude that the Medal of Honor would more suitably recognize Pitsenbarger's heroism.
William F. Pitsenbarger will accept the Medal of Honor on his son's behalf. Subsequent to the award, Pitsenbarger will also be posthumously promoted to the rank of staff sergeant.
The ceremony will be held in the Museum's Modern Flight Hangar at 2:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public. Senior Department of Defense and Air Force officials will attend.
The U.S. Air Force Museum is located on Springfield Pike, six miles northeast of downtown Dayton. It is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day). Admission and parking are free.
NOTE TO MEDIA: For more information, contact the National Museum of the United States Air Force Public Affairs Division at (937) 255-4704.
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