In Honor of an Air Force Giant: ALS building dedicated in honor of Chief Etchberger

by Staff Sgt. Luis Loza Gutierrez
319th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

6/11/2014 - GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D -- The southern exterior wall of one of the buildings here shines much brighter as the Warriors of the North recently unveiled a golden plaque bearing the name and image of an American hero and fellow Airman.

The airman leadership school facility here was officially renamed the Chief Master Sgt. Richard L. Etchberger Airman Leadership School during a building dedication ceremony June 4, 2014.

ALS is a professional military education program designed to teach and prepare Airmen to become effective leaders and supervisors in the Air Force when a junior enlisted member has been selected for or promoted to staff sergeant, the entry-level rank in the Air Force non-commissioned officers corps.

"From the bottom of our hearts we thank you," said Rich Etchberger, while gesturing to the left side of his chest during a speech delivered to the crowd present at the dedication ceremony honoring this father.

Rich was not the only member of the Etchberger's family to be present. He was joined on his trip to North Dakota by his brother Cory Etchberger, his step-brother Steve Wilson and Madison Etchberger, Chief Etchberger's granddaughter. All smiled or subtlety nodded when Rich said to the crowd, "dad would be proud."

Pride seemed to be prevailing sentiment for not just the current and former ALS students who participating in ceremony, but also Master Sgt. Aaron Holmes, the current commandant of the Chief Etchberger ALS, who along with his predecessor, Master Sgt. Tameka Morales-Long, gave plenty of reasons for audience members to feel a sense of pride by retelling the story of the selfless and courageous actions that led to Chief Etchberger sacrificing his life for his country and ultimately being awarded the Medal of Honor.

The following is that story.

On April 1, 1967 Richard L. Etchberger was promoted to the rank of chief master sergeant.

The following year he and several other Airmen were hand-picked for a secret mission in Laos manning a small radar facility, which guided American pilots in the air campaign against North Vietnam. The site was located on the summit of one of the tallest mountains in Laos.

North Vietnamese forces knew the impact this radar station was having on the war, so they were determined to shut it down.

On March 10, 1968, the North Vietnamese surrounded the mountain and Chief Etchberger and his team knew they had to make a quick decision--evacuate or continue the task at hand.

That evening after shift, the North Vietnamese began their assault on the site, so Chief Etchberger and several of his men descended to a steep ledge on the side of the mountain.

As the North Vietnamese attacked, Chief and three of his men were trapped on the ledge, doing all they could to survive as the enemy lobbed grenades at them.

While on the side of the mountain, Chief Etchberger was able to direct airstrikes to clear the way for a helicopter rescue.

When the helicopter arrived, Chief Etchberger loaded wounded into the rescue slings, exposing himself to enemy gunfire.

As he bear-hugged the last man into the sling and began to depart, gunfire erupted below and Chief Etchberger was hit.

Due to the significant amount of blood lost while in transit, Chief Etchberger died before the helicopter reached the medical facility.

Of the 19 Americans on the mountain that day, only seven made it out alive. Three of those men diretly owed their lives to the heroic actions of Chief Etchberger.

More than 40 years later, on Sept. 21, 2010, Chief Master Sgt. Richard L. Etchberger was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

"It was a honor long overdue," said Holmes.

Holmes explained the delay was due in great part to the political sensitivities of the era and the secret status of the Chief's mission, which was not declassified until the 1980s.

"This dedication is an important event not just for our school and the base, but the Air Force," said Holmes. "I'm honored to have been part of it."

The dedication was not just a special occasion for Holmes and the Etchberger family, but Morales-Long as well, who proposed the dedicating the school to the memory of Chief Etchberger when she served as the commandant.

She said she had contemplated dedicating the school building to the memory of an enlisted member, but felt uncertain on who to pick.

That uncertainty quickly went away the day she saw the televised live presentation ceremony of the Medal of Honor to Chief Etchberger's family.

"I thought, wow what an amazing story," said Morales Long.

She soon approached the 319th Air Base Wing command chief, Chief Master Sgt. David Carlson, who gave his full support right away.

"It may have taken 19 months to get approval, but it was definitely worth the wait and worth the trip," said Morales Long, who is currently stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, but was more than glad to return to North Dakota in order to see the dedication in person. "It is just incredibly humbling not just because of all the hard work that was put to make this a reality, but to look back and know you had a role in preserving the legacy of a great Airman like Chief Master Sergeant Etchberger."

Col. Paul Bauman, 319th Air Base Wing commander, shared similar sentiments.

"It is only fitting that our airman leadership school be named after one of the giants of our Air Force."

The commander said dedicating the school in honor of the Chief Etchberger not only honors one of our great warriors but shows the importance the service places on education and expanding one's knowledge.

He went further by reciting the words of Thucydides, a general, political philosopher and historian from ancient Greece.

"'A nation that draws too broad a difference between its scholars and its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards, and it's fighting done by fools,'. . . therefore I ask that you keep these words in the forefront of your thoughts as a reminder of who we are and who we aspire to be," referring to man whose name is found on the walls where the Warriors of the North learn to become leaders.