medal of honor stars graphic
MEDAL OF HONOR:
Specialist Four Leslie H. Sabo Jr.
Specialist Four Leslie H. Sabo Jr.

MEDAL OF HONOR

Vietnam War

"He was and is a true American hero, who paid the ultimate price but also made the ultimate difference by saving the lives of his brothers-in-arms. All of us are grateful to Specialist Sabo. Grateful for his legacy of service and sacrifice that still burns brightly in the millions of men and women who serve our nation in uniform today, and grateful to see him finally being honored this week with the recognition that he obviously so richly deserves."

Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta
Pentagon Hall of Heroes Ceremony, Thursday, May 17, 2012

Specialist Four Leslie H. Sabo Jr.

Specialist Four Leslie H. Sabo Jr.

hometown

Ellwood City, Pennsylvania

Unit

506th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division

Deployments

Vietnam War

Honoring a Call of Duty

As part of an immigrant family, Specialist Leslie Sabo Jr. is a shining example of those who are willing to fight for their adopted country. His efforts to save his fellow soldiers during the Vietnam War earned him the Medal of Honor decades after his death. Sabo was born in Kufstein, Austria, on Feb. 23, 1948, only a few years after World War II ended. His family fled to the United States when he was 2 to escape the Soviet takeover of Eastern Europe. They moved to Ellwood City in western Pennsylvania, where Sabo grew up. Sabo was known to many as being kindhearted, hardworking and dependable.

Sabo family photo. At the end of World War II, Sabo's family escaped from their native Hungary to Austria fleeing the Soviet army and communism. When Leslie was 2, the family immigrated to the United States, where their father, who had practiced law in Hungary, went to night school at the age of 43 and became an engineer. Photo courtesy of U.S. Army.

Spc. 4 Leslie H. Sabo Jr. and his new wife, Rose Mary, pose for the camera before he deployed to Vietnam with Company B, 3rd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division in November 1969. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army)

Sabo met his future wife Rose Mary at a high school football game. She was a senior and he had just graduated. She knew she was "going to be with him for the rest of … my life as soon as I met him. I don't know. Something clicked for both of us." After about a year and a half of college at Youngstown State University in Ohio, Leslie left school, uncertain what he wanted to do in life. He was working at a steel mill when he was drafted into the Army in 1969. Rose Mary, then his fiancée, begged him to ignore the draft notice, but Leslie refused. He explained that his family had fled communism and it was his duty to stand against it, to fight for the country that had given them so much. After a few months of training, the 22-year-old was sent to Vietnam on Nov. 14, 1969, as part of the 506th Infantry in the famed 101st Airborne Division.

On May 5, 1970, Sabo was sent into Cambodia as part of a secret reconnaissance mission aimed at preventing the North Vietnamese from staging attacks in Vietnam. Just five days later, on May 10, his platoon was ambushed. Even though his platoon was ambushed from all sides by a large enemy force, Sabo charged the enemy position, killing several enemy Soldiers. He then assaulted an enemy flanking force, successfully drawing their fire away from friendly Soldiers and ultimately forcing the enemy to retreat. While securing a re-supply of ammunition, an enemy grenade landed nearby. Specialist Sabo picked it up, threw it, and shielded a wounded comrade with his own body - absorbing the brunt of the blast and saving his comrade's life.

Although wounded by the grenade blast, Sabo continued to charge the enemy's bunker. After receiving several serious wounds from automatic weapons fire, he crawled toward the enemy emplacement and, when in position, threw a grenade into the bunker. The resulting explosion silenced the enemy fire, but also ended Specialist Sabo's life. His indomitable courage and complete disregard for his own safety saved the lives of many of his platoon members.

Sabo was posthumously promoted to sergeant, but unfortunately, his family was not fully aware of how he died for many years. According to the Pennsylvania Military Museum, it was reported that he had been killed by a sniper while guarding an ammunition cache in Vietnam. That's likely because the mission in Cambodia was classified until the late 1990s.

Government records showed that Sabo was recommended for the Medal of Honor by his company commander, Capt. Jim Waybright, shortly after the mission in which he died. But the account of his actions got lost for several decades. Finally, in 1999, the paperwork was discovered by Alton Mabb, another 101st Airborne Division Vietnam veteran who had been doing research at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland. The push to get Sabo's Medal of Honor began again. It took until 2010 before the Defense Department announced it would officially recommend the award. In May 2012 — 42 years after his death — Sabo was finally recognized for his efforts. During a ceremony at the White House, Sabo's widow, Rose Mary Buccelli — whom he married just a month before he left for Vietnam — accepted the Medal of Honor from President Barack Obama on his behalf.

More honors rolled in after that. The Ellwood City Post Office was renamed in Sabo's honor in 2015, and a memorial and bridge in the town were also dedicated to him. That same year, Fort Campbell renamed its Freedom Fighter gym the Sabo Physical Fitness Center. A plaque dedicated to him hangs there in his honor.

Spc. 4 Leslie H. Sabo Jr. carries the M-60 machine gun in 1969. Photo Courtesy of U.S. Army

Army Spc. Leslie Sabo Jr., far right, poses with his fellow soldiers in Vietnam on Christmas Day 1969. Photo courtesy of Department of Defense.

Army Spc. Leslie Sabo Jr., far right, poses with his fellow soldiers in Vietnam on Christmas Day 1969. Photo courtesy of Department of Defense.

The Battle

May 10, 1970 | Near the Se San River in eastern Cambodia.

The division insignia is a white eagle's head with a gold beak on a black shield. The design is based on an American Civil War tradition.

The division insignia is a white eagle's head with a gold beak on a black shield. The design is based on an American Civil War tradition. The black shield recalls the "Iron Brigade", one of the forerunners of the 101st Division. One regiment of the brigade possessed the famous war eagle, "Old Abe", pictured on the shield, that went through 36 battles as a fierce, screaming mascot and was wounded twice. When the division was activated in 1942, the word "Airborne", in gold letters, was placed on a crescent-shaped black background and added to the top of the insignia.

506th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division

Read Unit History

On May 10, 1970, Company B was in Cambodia on a secret mission to prevent North Vietnamese forces from staging attacks into Vietnam. The company, attached to the 4th Infantry Division, had taken a village in Se San, Cambodia, Waybright said, and they were in the process of destroying the food supplies and encampments the North Vietnamese forces left behind. The company had orders to keep moving down a trail when they were finished.

Capt. Jim Waybright was Sabo's company commander with Company B, 3rd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. They traveled down the path, with two platoons forward and one in reserve. That afternoon, a North Vietnamese battalion ambushed the company. "I think the first reaction was, people were sort of freezing," Waybright recalled. "And then we quickly shouted out -- several of us -- to return fire. Actually, in combat, everybody is afraid, but there is a camaraderie among people in your outfit … you don't want to look bad in front of your fellow Soldiers … you want to save their lives as well as your own."

The company, which had been traveling in a perimeter rather than a column formation, was already in a defensive position when the attack began, Waybright said. "They dug in on one side and (to) the rear of us," he said, and the enemy was quickly closing in. Waybright and his men started calling for air support almost immediately -- the Soldiers were severely outnumbered...Sabo might have come across as a little bit of a hippie, but when the bullets started flying, Leslie really came to task," Waybright remembered.

This wasn't the first time Sabo would prove his mettle in battle. Just a month earlier, the Soldiers found themselves in a fierce firefight, Waybright said, and Sabo's actions rallied his fellow Soldiers and inspired them to fight harder. He charged the enemy's position, killing several of their soldiers, and then proceeded to assault the flanking force, drawing their fire away from his unit and forcing them to retreat.

Sabo saw a wounded soldier about 10 yards away, so he ran across an open field to get to him, and a grenade landed nearby. Sabo picked it up and threw it, shielding the injured soldier from the brunt of the blast with his own body. He was wounded by shrapnel, but he didn't give up. Sabo collected extra ammo from that position and then charged an enemy bunker that had been heavily injuring his platoon. He got hit several times by gunfire during that charge and was mortally wounded, but he kept going, crawling toward the bunker and finally throwing a hand grenade into it.

Troops leaving UH-1 copter during Vietnam War. September 1971. Photo by Lieutenant W. H. Baker, Courtesy of Naval Weapons Laboratory, Department of Defense.

"At times he actually moved toward the enemy," Waybright remembered, "and it saved that side of the perimeter." His body full of shrapnel from the grenade explosion, Sabo charged an enemy bunker sustaining serious wounds from automatic weapons fire in the process. Despite his injuries, he pressed on toward the emplacement and threw a grenade into the bunker, sacrificing his own life to stop the enemy fire. The subsequent explosion silenced all the enemy gunfire, but Sabo's actions also cost him his life. Sabo was one of eight U.S. forces killed that day, but there would have been a lot more if it weren't for his courageous and selfless actions.

"I think the North Vietnamese intention was to even the perimeter and then attempt to overrun us," Waybright said, adding that he and the surviving members of Company B credited Sabo with preventing that from happening. Eight people were killed during that battle, and another 28 were wounded, but the enemy force sustained the biggest blow. "I think the division counted 49 enemy KIAs,".

“ Despite his injuries, he pressed on toward the emplacement and threw a grenade into the bunker, sacrificing his own life to stop the enemy fire. The subsequent explosion silenced all the enemy gunfire, but Sabo's actions also cost him his life. Sabo was one of eight U.S. forces killed that day, but there would have been a lot more if it weren't for his courageous and selfless actions. ”

The Ceremony


Sgt. Leslie H. Sabo Jr. was awarded the nation's highest award for valor in combat by the President of the United States of America during a White House ceremony, May 16, 2012; approximately 42 years after Sabo gave his life while protecting his fellow Soldiers during an ambush in the jungles of Cambodia.



President Barack Obama gives remarks during the White House Medal of Honor Ceremony, posthumously, in honor of Sabo. Then 22-year-old Sabo was killed in action in Cambodia in 1970 while saving the lives of his fellow soldiers in Washington, May 16, 2012.

Show Caption +

President Barack Obama gives remarks during the White House Medal of Honor Ceremony, posthumously, in honor of Sabo. Then 22-year-old Sabo was killed in action in Cambodia in 1970 while saving the lives of his fellow soldiers in Washington, May 16, 2012.

President Barack Obama comforts Rose Buccelli, Specialist 4 Leslie H. Sabo Jr.'s widow, during the White House Medal of Honor Ceremony, posthumously, in honor of Sabo. Then 22-year-old Sabo was killed in action in Cambodia in 1970 while saving the lives of his fellow soldiers in Washington, May 16, 2012.

Show Caption +

President Barack Obama comforts Rose Buccelli, Specialist 4 Leslie H. Sabo Jr.'s widow, during the White House Medal of Honor Ceremony, posthumously, in honor of Sabo. Then 22-year-old Sabo was killed in action in Cambodia in 1970 while saving the lives of his fellow soldiers in Washington, May 16, 2012.

President Barack Obama posthumously presents the Medal of Honor to Rose Mary Buccelli during a White House ceremony, May 16, 2012. Buccelli accepted the medal on behalf of her husband, Army Spc. Leslie Sabo Jr., who died in 1970 saving the lives of his fellow soldiers during the Vietnam War.

Show Caption +

President Barack Obama posthumously presents the Medal of Honor to Rose Mary Buccelli during a White House ceremony, May 16, 2012. Buccelli accepted the medal on behalf of her husband, Army Spc. Leslie Sabo Jr., who died in 1970 saving the lives of his fellow soldiers during the Vietnam War.


An Army officer holds the Medal of Honor during a White House ceremony that posthumously honored Spc. Leslie H. Sabo Jr. In 1970, Sabo died while saving the lives of his fellow soldiers during a secret mission in Cambodia.

Show Caption +

An Army officer holds the Medal of Honor during a White House ceremony that posthumously honored Spc. Leslie H. Sabo Jr. In 1970, Sabo died while saving the lives of his fellow soldiers during a secret mission in Cambodia.

“ In his story we see the shining values that keep our military strong and keep America great. We see the patriotism of families who give our nation a piece of their heart -- their husbands and wives, their sons and their daughters. And we see the devotion of citizens who put on the uniform, who kiss their families goodbye, who are willing to lay down their lives so that we can live ours in peace and in freedom. ”

President Barack Obama

White House Ceremony, May 16, 2012

Vietnam War Commemoration 50th Anniversary Vietnam War Commemoration 50th Anniversary

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