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Medal awarded 40 years after pilot’s death
  
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By Tom Munds
The final chapter of a long story was written on Veterans Day when Air Force Capt. Melvin Ladewig was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Vietnam Service Medal more than 40 years after his death.
The medal was authorized and awarded primarily due to the efforts of the Honoring Forgotten Heroes organization. The organization was formed in 1998 at Veterans of Foreign War Post 1 in Denver. The organization is dedicated to helping military men and women received the medals they earned but never were awarded.
The presentation to the Ladewig family was made as part of a Veterans Day ceremony held at an elementary school in Lakewood.
“It was an emotional time for our whole family,” Earl Ladewig, Melvin’s dad, said of the medal ceremony. “I didn’t cry but there were tears in my eyes as I remembered my son and the sacrifice he made for his country. I have always been proud of him but this medal means I’m prouder than every because it tells me Melvin not only did his job but he did it exceptionally well.”
Earl said the family has fond memories of Melvin
“We all miss him,” the Englewood resident said. “But, while Melvin isn’t with us in body, we feel he is with us in spirit.”
Capt. Melvin Ladewig, was stationed with the 497 Tactical Fighter Squadron in Udorn, Thailand, in 1968 and was assigned to fly combat missions over Vietnam in his F-4 fighter-bomber. He had flown more than 40 missions successfully but, on Aug. 24. his plane didn’t return from a combat mission and he was declared missing in action.
“I was an enlisted man in the Air Force and my family and I were stationed in Athens, Greece when we got the news that Melvin’s plane had apparently been shot down,” Earl Ladewig said. “I knew he was flying combat missions and I was always very concerned for his safety because I knew he was in danger every time he flew a mission. But, even knowing all that, it was still devastating when we got the news he’d been shot down.”
Melvin continued to be listed as missing in action until 1975. That was when a review of records from a Vietnamese unit showed they had shot down an F-4 on the date Melvin’s plane failed to return from the mission. Based on that information, the government officially listed him as killed in action.
The family received all his records and, in the officers evaluation report written not long before he was shot down, his superior recommended he be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
There is no record of the reason for the recommendation but a Distinguished Flying Cross is only awarded to Air Force officers or enlisted personnel who distinguished themselves in actual combat in support of operations by "heroism or extraordinary achievement” while participating in an aerial flight.
Roy Ladewig, Melvin’s younger brother, said investigation of unit records showed the officer who wrote up the report was killed soon after he completed Melvin’s performance evaluation, so it is possible the medal recommendation was never forwarded through official channels.
“But, we felt that since his superior officer had planned to recommend Melvin for the medal he should receive it,” Roy said. “My dad, my brothers and I kept trying to get members of the Colorado Congressional delegation to follow up on this but it never happened.”
However, things changed when Roy was at the Memorial Day Parade in Denver earlier this year and met a man who was associated with the Honoring Forgotten Heroes organization.
The organization took up the issue and Earl Ladewig received the medals for his late son as part of a larger ceremony sponsored by VFW Post 1 and held at O’Connell Middle School in Lakewood.
The Ladewig family has a long history in Englewood. Earl Ladewig is a retired Air Force veteran and as a career airman, he and his family moved quite a bit. They were in the area in 1948 when Melvin was born and they lived in Englewood in the 1950s, when Melvin attended St Louis Catholic School. Last year, his St. Louis classmates dedicated their 50th reunion to Melvin’s memory. He also was recognized in 1976 when a freedom tree was planted in Cushing Park and a plaque in his memory was placed at the base of the tree.
He went on to graduate from Myrtle Beach High School, received a National Merit Scholarship and attended Georgia Tech University. Through the Reserve Officer Training Corps at Georgia Tech, Melvin earned an Air Force commission and went on to become a pilot.
Earl Ladewig and his wife had nine children, eight sons and one daughter. Five of the boys, including Melvin, chose to follow in their father’s footsteps and join the Air Force. All the boys earned commissions and served as officers.
The medal was authorized and awarded primarily due to the efforts of the Honoring Forgotten Heroes organization. The organization was formed in 1998 at Veterans of Foreign War Post 1 in Denver. The organization is dedicated to helping military men and women received the medals they earned but never were awarded.
The presentation to the Ladewig family was made as part of a Veterans Day ceremony held at an elementary school in Lakewood.
“It was an emotional time for our whole family,” Earl Ladewig, Melvin’s dad, said of the medal ceremony. “I didn’t cry but there were tears in my eyes as I remembered my son and the sacrifice he made for his country. I have always been proud of him but this medal means I’m prouder than every because it tells me Melvin not only did his job but he did it exceptionally well.”
Earl said the family has fond memories of Melvin
“We all miss him,” the Englewood resident said. “But, while Melvin isn’t with us in body, we feel he is with us in spirit.”
Capt. Melvin Ladewig, was stationed with the 497 Tactical Fighter Squadron in Udorn, Thailand, in 1968 and was assigned to fly combat missions over Vietnam in his F-4 fighter-bomber. He had flown more than 40 missions successfully but, on Aug. 24. his plane didn’t return from a combat mission and he was declared missing in action.
“I was an enlisted man in the Air Force and my family and I were stationed in Athens, Greece when we got the news that Melvin’s plane had apparently been shot down,” Earl Ladewig said. “I knew he was flying combat missions and I was always very concerned for his safety because I knew he was in danger every time he flew a mission. But, even knowing all that, it was still devastating when we got the news he’d been shot down.”
Melvin continued to be listed as missing in action until 1975. That was when a review of records from a Vietnamese unit showed they had shot down an F-4 on the date Melvin’s plane failed to return from the mission. Based on that information, the government officially listed him as killed in action.
The family received all his records and, in the officers evaluation report written not long before he was shot down, his superior recommended he be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
There is no record of the reason for the recommendation but a Distinguished Flying Cross is only awarded to Air Force officers or enlisted personnel who distinguished themselves in actual combat in support of operations by "heroism or extraordinary achievement” while participating in an aerial flight.
Roy Ladewig, Melvin’s younger brother, said investigation of unit records showed the officer who wrote up the report was killed soon after he completed Melvin’s performance evaluation, so it is possible the medal recommendation was never forwarded through official channels.
“But, we felt that since his superior officer had planned to recommend Melvin for the medal he should receive it,” Roy said. “My dad, my brothers and I kept trying to get members of the Colorado Congressional delegation to follow up on this but it never happened.”
However, things changed when Roy was at the Memorial Day Parade in Denver earlier this year and met a man who was associated with the Honoring Forgotten Heroes organization.
The organization took up the issue and Earl Ladewig received the medals for his late son as part of a larger ceremony sponsored by VFW Post 1 and held at O’Connell Middle School in Lakewood.
The Ladewig family has a long history in Englewood. Earl Ladewig is a retired Air Force veteran and as a career airman, he and his family moved quite a bit. They were in the area in 1948 when Melvin was born and they lived in Englewood in the 1950s, when Melvin attended St Louis Catholic School. Last year, his St. Louis classmates dedicated their 50th reunion to Melvin’s memory. He also was recognized in 1976 when a freedom tree was planted in Cushing Park and a plaque in his memory was placed at the base of the tree.
He went on to graduate from Myrtle Beach High School, received a National Merit Scholarship and attended Georgia Tech University. Through the Reserve Officer Training Corps at Georgia Tech, Melvin earned an Air Force commission and went on to become a pilot.
Earl Ladewig and his wife had nine children, eight sons and one daughter. Five of the boys, including Melvin, chose to follow in their father’s footsteps and join the Air Force. All the boys earned commissions and served as officers.
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