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United States Strategic Command dedicated its command library May 7 to Medal of Honor recipient and Vietnam War hero Chief Master Sgt. Richard L. Etchberger, during a ceremony in the LeMay Command and Control Facility atrium. U.S. Navy Adm. Rich Correll, the USSTRATCOM commander, and U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Jo Naumann, the command’s senior enlisted leader, presided over the event.
The naming honors Etchberger’s extraordinary courage and his support to the strategic bomber missions of his era, connecting his work to capabilities central to the command’s mission today.
Etchberger served with the 1043rd Radar Evaluation Squadron, based out of Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, in support of the highly classified Operation Heavy Green in Laos. On March 11, 1968, his top-secret radar station, Lima Site 85, came under heavy artillery attack and was in danger of being overrun. The radar provided precise targeting data for bombers and was a precursor to the Advanced Command Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance capabilities that underpin USSTRATCOM operations.
“As far as I can see, combat is and will continue to be, at the center of it, a human endeavor,” said Correll, during the ceremony. “What that individual does when they find themselves in a very, very challenging situation can have a tremendous impact on others as it gets paid forward.”
During the ambush, Etchberger single-handedly defended his position against an overwhelming enemy force while directing airstrikes and coordinating an air rescue. When a helicopter arrived, he left cover to place three wounded technicians in rescue slings and boarded only after his remaining crew were safely aboard. He was fatally wounded by enemy ground fire as the helicopter departed.
“He embodies everything that an NCO should be,” said Naumann. “He fought, not because it was what he was trained to do, but because it was what he needed to do in that moment. And then he made sure that every one of his people were on that aircraft before he was.”
For his heroism and sacrifice, Etchberger was awarded the Air Force Cross posthumously, though the operation’s secrecy meant the award was not publicly acknowledged until 1998. After the mission was declassified and his actions reevaluated, he received the Medal of Honor in 2010.
The ceremony concluded with an unveiling that formally designated the space the Chief Master Sergeant Richard L. Etchberger Command Library.
