newjerseynewsroom.com

BY ADELE SAMMARCO

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

With all the family barbecues and other convivial festivities this holiday weekend, the true meaning of Memorial Day can sometimes get lost in the party shuffle. Memorial Day, which was originally called Decoration Day more than a century ago, has long been set aside as a time to remember and to reflect upon those men and women in uniform who selflessly gave their lives so that we may all live in freedom.

One such hero’s courageous and most noble act of valor 42 years ago is now being honored posthumously. Army Specialist Leslie H. Sabo, Jr. was just 22 when he was killed in action during the Vietnam War, and now more than four decades later, he is bestowed the country’s highest military honor awarded by the United States government, the Medal of Honor.

President Obama presented the medal to Sabo’s widow last week in the name of Congress.

"This Medal of Honor is bestowed on a single soldier for his singular courage. But it speaks to the service of an entire generation, and to the sacrifice of so many military families," the President said in a White House ceremony last week before presenting the nation's highest decoration for valor to Sabo's widow and brother.

The award is conferred upon only those members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States."

Due to the nature of its selection criteria, the medal is often awarded posthumously, with more than half of all awards since 1941 given to individuals who are deceased. Sabo was killed May 10, 1970 as his patrol was ambushed near a remote border area of Cambodia. The attack by North Vietnamese troops killed seven of Sabo's fellow soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division in an attack that would later become known as the "Mother's Day ambush."

"Les was in the rear, and he could have stayed there. But those fighters were unloading on his brothers," said the President according to the White House. "So Les charged forward and took several of those fighters out."

When an enemy grenade landed near a wounded comrade, Sabo used his body to shield his fellow soldier from the blast as he tossed the grenade out of the way.

“Even though he had been wounded by automatic weapons fire, Sabo "did something extraordinary," Obama said. "He began to crawl straight toward an enemy bunker, its machine guns blazing."

"Les kept crawling, kept pulling himself along, closer to that bunker, even as the bullets hit the ground all around him. And then, he grabbed a grenade and he pulled the pin. It's said he held that grenade and didn't throw it until the last possible moment, knowing it would take his own life, but knowing he could silence that bunker. And he did. He saved his comrades, who meant more to him than life," Obama said.Sabo's commanders nominated him for the Medal of Honor, but the request was somehow lost throughout the years and fell through the cracks.

"Four decades after Leslie's sacrifice, we can set the record straight," Obama said. "Leslie Sabo left behind a wife who adored him, a brother who loved him, parents who cherished him, and family and friends who admired him. But they never knew. For decades, they never knew their Les had died a hero. The fog of war, and paperwork that seemed to get lost in the shuffle, meant this story was almost lost to history," the President said.