Etchberger Honored at Air Force Memorial

Air Force leaders gathered last week at the Air Force Memorial in Arlington, Va., for the unveiling of CMSgt. Richard L. Etchberger’s name on the memorial’s Medal of Honor recipient wall. “Legends like Chief Etchberger serve as role models for the latest generation of airmen performing extraordinary deeds today far from home,” said Secretary Michael Donley during the March 11 ceremony. He added, “Under these three words: valor, courage, and sacrifice, Chief Etchberger’s name will now endure at this memorial as a permanent record of our nation’s highest esteem.” Etchberger joins the 17 other airmen on the wall who have received the MOH since the Air Force’s establishment in 1947. Joining Donley for the unveiling were CMSAF James Roy, retired CMSgt. John McCauslin, a member of the Air Force Memorial Board, and members of Etchberger’s family. Etchberger posthumously received the MOH last September for his heroics on a Laotian mountain in March 1968 that cost him his life. (SAF/PA report by MSgt. Amaani Lyle) (For background, read Etchberger, Medal of Honor, from Air Force Magazine’s November 2010 issue)