US | Barack Obama Vietnam Vet Receives Medal of Honor Posthumously Bravery in Laos was a secret for decades By Kevin Spak Posted Sep 21, 2010 3:53 PM CDT Copied A 1968 Air Force photo, via the Reading Eagle, of Sgt. Richard L. Etchberger in Vietnam. (AP Photo/USAF, Reading Eagle) President Obama awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor today for an act of bravery the military had covered up for decades. Chief Master Sgt. Richard Etchberger was killed while helping three wounded comrades onto an evacuation helicopter during an attack on a US outpost in Laos. But for years, the event was kept under wraps because the US was not officially supposed to be in Laos, USA Today explains. Obama presented the medal to Etchberger’s family today, praising his “conspicuous gallantry,” and noting that the radar technician “had no formal combat training.” Etchberger’s family had been told he died in a helicopter crash, and learned the truth years afterward. “Even though it’s been 42 years, it’s never too late to do the right thing,” Obama said. Read These Next Beyonce leaves national anthem unfinished. Iraq's national game of deception brings out the best bluffers. A space capsule carrying ashes of 160 people crashed in the ocean. A Texas man's disappearance is fodder for true-crime mania. Report an error