SPC Leslie H. Sabo
On May 10, 1970, SPC Sabo and his platoon were ambushed by North Vietnamese soldiers in the Se San River valley of Cambodia. Approximately sixty soldiers from B Company, Third Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division were ambushed by an enemy force estimated to be a minimum of 150 soldiers. During heavy fire Sabo sustained multiple shrapnel wounds when he used his own body to protect a wounded soldier from a grenade blast. Despite the wounds he continued on gathering ammunition from fallen soldiers to distribute to his comrades during the fight and provided cover to medical helicopters evacuating wounded soldiers.
SPC Sabo did not survive the battle and was killed by enemy fire serving his country.
On Monday April 16, 2012, President Barack Obama officially announced that Ellwood City’s heroic son Leslie H. Sabo Jr. has been awarded the nation’s highest military honor, the Medal of Honor. The President will present the award to SPC Sabo’s wife Rose Mary Sabo-Brown at the White House in Washington D.C. on May 16th (42 years and 6 six days after he died.)
awesome ! its about time ! Thank to our president
Those of us who came home are indebted to Leslie Sabo and others who gave their life in honor of their country. Bless you, Rose Mary, for your patience.
Thank you everyone for your kind words and thoughtfulness
Congratulations to you Rose Mary, I’m pleased that you will be able to cherish your husband’s honor which is much more deserved than ever we could imagine! I had learned more about your heroic husband a few years back at the Ellwood City 4th July Festival, we had the “Moving wall” and of course your husband name was inscribed along with 5 other boys from Ellwood that had been killed. The late Joe Listori & my huband Ray were in the same recruit unit, Ray was deferred due to health issues, unfortunately, Joe never returned.
His honor & his memory will never be forgotten.
May God bless you & your family
It’s wonderful to know that Leslie is finally being recognized for his heroism.
Praise God is all I can say!!! I knew Leslie when we were just kids playing sandlot football, his brother George was a little older and Leslie was a couple of years younger and thier parents were wonderful people. I am very proud to have known him!!!! Donald R. Anderson
What an incredible man! How wonderful that he is finally going to be recognized officially for his bravery. Of course, those of you from Elwood City have known his story and of his heroism for some time, but I will pass it on to my fellow soldiers. May God bless his family…
Rose Mary, you looked so poised on May 16th, making all of us from Ellwood City who served so proud of you and your husband’s heroism. I watched the presentation President Obama performed, honoring you, George Sabo, the members present from Bravo Company, and all who served their country. What a thrill it was to see the Bravo Co. men stand and be recognized. Pasted below is the White House video link for those who may not have been able to see the full presentation. May your patience give you peace for ever, Rose.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/05/16/president-obama-awards-posthumous-medal-honor-specialist-leslie-h-sabo-jr
Very well put Dave. Your words speak for me also. Thanks.
God Bless the family of Leslie.
God Bless those who fight today.
God Bless those who fought in the past.
And God Bless America, the country of freedom and liberty they and you so proudly defended..!!
I thank you all..
I opened the paper in Tampa this morning to read all about this. It was an Associated Press article so I assume it was in the papers all over the country. I can not add anything to what has already been said above except to agree with it.
Dave, Ernie, Bob, …all of you, thank you. You are real class acts and I thank you for your comments on Leslie and Rose Mary. I could not have said it any better than you have and thank you for that.
The American Legion national monthly magazine has just published a two page article in the magazine on Leslie Sabo and his recent award.