THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE RESOLUTION

INTRODUCED BY GIBBONS, SAINATO, MATZIE, AUMENT, BARBIN, BARRAR, BRADFORD, BROOKS, CALTAGIRONE, CARROLL, CAUSER, CLYMER, COHEN, CONKLIN, COX, DALEY, DeLUCA, DiGIROLAMO, ELLIS, EVERETT, FABRIZIO, FLECK, FRANKEL, GABLER, GEORGE, DERMODY, GILLEN, GINGRICH, GODSHALL, GOODMAN, GRELL, GROVE, HAHN, HENNESSEY, HESS, JAMES, W. KELLER, KIRKLAND, KNOWLES, KORTZ, KULA, LONGIETTI, MAHONEY, MANN, McGEEHAN, METZGAR, MICOZZIE, MILLARD, MIRABITO, MULLERY, MUSTIO, M. O'BRIEN, O'NEILL, PARKER, PAYNE, PRESTON, QUINN, RAVENSTAHL, READSHAW, ROSS, SAYLOR, SCAVELLO, SCHMOTZER, SONNEY, STABACK, SWANGER, TALLMAN, TOEPEL, VEREB, WATERS, WATSON, WHITE, YOUNGBLOOD, MAJOR AND DEASY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012  

A RESOLUTION

Recognizing and honoring Army Sergeant Leslie Halasz Sabo, Jr.,

posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor.

WHEREAS, The Medal of Honor, the highest award for valor, is

bestowed upon members of the armed forces who have distinguished

themselves above and beyond the call of duty; and

WHEREAS, Only 3,458 individuals have been awarded the Medal

of Honor; and

WHEREAS, Records show that 379 Pennsylvanians have received

the Medal of Honor and, under Pennsylvania law, have been

remembered with a commemorative marker in Soldiers' Grove; and

WHEREAS, Army Sergeant Leslie Halasz Sabo, Jr., an honorable

and distinguished Pennsylvanian from Lawrence County, was

posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for valor on May 16,

2012, in addition to receiving numerous other meritorious awards

during his extraordinary military career; and

WHEREAS, He was born February 23, 1948, in Austria, the son

of the late Dr. Leslie and Elizabeth Sabo; and

WHEREAS, In 1950 he and his family moved to Youngstown, Ohio,

and later to Ellwood City, Pennsylvania; and

WHEREAS, In 1966 he graduated from Lincoln High School in

Ellwood City, where he participated in the bowling club and

Spanish club and served in a youth auxiliary for the YMCA, and

later attended Youngstown State University until taking a job at

B&W Steel in 1967; and

WHEREAS, In April 1969, Leslie Halasz Sabo, Jr., was drafted

into the army and began devoting his life to the service of his

nation, going to basic training and attending advanced infantry

training at Fort Benning in Georgia; and

WHEREAS, Upon completing advanced infantry training, he was

assigned to the Second Platoon of the Bravo Company in the 506th

Infantry of the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam, serving as

an Army Specialist; and

WHEREAS, On May 1, 1970, 101st Airborne Division was ordered

into Cambodia in an attempt to root out the North Vietnamese

safe havens that were used as a platform for the Tet offensive;

and

WHEREAS, On May 10, 1970, Bravo Company was on a mission to

find and destroy North Vietnamese bases in Cambodia, and shortly

before noon reached a jungle clearing in the Se San River

Valley, Cambodia; and

WHEREAS, North Vietnamese forces, which possessed the

advantage of significantly greater numbers and entrenched

position, ambushed the 60 members of Bravo Company, including

Specialist Sabo; and

WHEREAS, Specialist Sabo thwarted enemy attempts to surround

Bravo Company before exposing himself to direct enemy fire,

first by throwing himself atop an injured comrade and shielding

him from the explosion of North Vietnamese grenades, and then by

plunging into enemy fire to strip three bandolier-style

ammunition belts from fallen soldiers; and

WHEREAS, When a helicopter came to evacuate wounded members

of Bravo Company, Specialist Sabo left his defensive position

and jumped in the line of enemy fire once more to clear the

landing zone, thereby providing the helicopter sufficient time

to evacuate two of his seriously wounded comrades, costing him

his life; and

WHEREAS, After these heroic acts Specialist Sabo was

posthumously promoted to sergeant and nominated for the Medal of

Honor; and

WHEREAS, Documentation attesting to Sergeant Sabo's heroism

was lost for more than 30 years until its discovery by Alton

Mabb in the National Archives in 2002, and its finding rekindled

efforts to award the Medal of Honor to Sergeant Sabo; and

WHEREAS, On May 16, 2012, Sergeant Leslie Halasz Sabo, Jr.,

after 42 years, posthumously received the Medal of Honor, thus

becoming Lawrence County's first Medal of Honor recipient since

the Civil War; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize that

without Sergeant Leslie Halasz Sabo, Jr.'s courage, ability to

inspire others, selfless sacrifice and profound concern for the

welfare of his fellow soldiers, the loss of life in his unit

would have been significantly greater; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor Sergeant

Leslie Halasz Sabo, Jr.'s conspicuous gallantry, extraordinary

heroism and intrepid leadership at the cost of his own life; and

be it further

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives duly recognize

Sergeant Leslie Halasz Sabo, Jr.'s heroism and sacrifice, in

keeping with the highest tradition of the United States Army and

going above and beyond the call of duty; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives pay tribute to

Sergeant Leslie Halasz Sabo, Jr., posthumous recipient of the

Medal of Honor, for his brave actions in combat in 1970 and who

is officially granted his rightful place of honor upon the

hallowed grounds in Soldiers' Grove at the State Capitol of this

Commonwealth; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be transmitted to

the family of Army Sergeant Leslie Halasz Sabo, Jr.