His patrol was ambushed by the North Vietnamese in what would later become known as the "Mother's Day Ambush".
Being in a rear position when he patrol came under fire, instead of staying behind, he charged forward and took out several enemy combatants.
When a grenade fell next to a wounded American, Sabo threw the grenade away, and protected the soldier with his own body.
Even though Sabo had been already wounded by small arms fire, he then crawled straight towards the enemy bunker which was emitting a constant stream of heavy machine gun bullets.
He then held a grenade until it's fuse had all but run out, before pitching it at the bunker. The resulting blast took Sabo's life, but also allowed for his patrol to successfully repel the "Mother's Day Ambush".
We will never know exactly how many of his comrades lives he saved that day, but it is clear that Leslie Sabo gave his life so that his brothers-in-arms might make it through the day.
For one reason or another, although his commander submitted Sabo for the Medal of Honor, his files were lost in the confusion of war and the incalculable amount of paper work that comes with it.
Thanks to the help of an army researcher, his files were finally brought in sight. And thanks to several members of congress, the statute of limitations requiring Medal of Honor recommendations to be made within three years of the incident, was altered enough that Sabo's case could be reexamined.
And of course this led to Sabo being posthumously presented with the highest award achievable in the United States military, the Medal of Honor.
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