Forty-two years after his selfless act of heroism during the Vietnam war saved the lives of his fellow soldiers, Army Specialist Leslie H. Sabo, Jr. will posthumously receive the Medal of Honor at a White House ceremony on Wednesday.
President Obama will present the nation's highest decoration for valor to Sabo's widow, Rose Mary Brown, and brother, George Sabo.
The then 22-year-old Sabo died on 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 and would come to be known as the "Mother's Day ambush."
A White House statement announcing Sabo's receipt of the Medal of Honor in April described how Sabo gave his life that day to silence the enemy fire.
According to the release, Sabo charged enemy positions and killed several North Vietnamese fighters while drawing fire away from his unit.
Later, Sabo used his body to shield a wounded soldier from the blast of a tossed grenade. Wounded by automatic weapons fire, he crawled towards an enemy bunker and dropped a grenade that "silenced the enemy fire, but also ended Specialist Sabo's life."
