1st Sgt. Maximo Yabes' Sacrifice

First Sergeant Maximo Yabes demonstrated extraordinary heroism while serving with Company A during a security operation for a land-clearing mission. In the early hours, the company came under sudden and intense enemy fire, including automatic weapons and mortars, followed by a battalion-sized assault from three sides. The enemy breached the defensive perimeter and advanced toward the command post bunker, which faced escalating fire and the imminent risk of being overrun.

As enemy grenades landed inside the command post, 1st Sgt. Yabes shouted a warning and used his body to shield others from the blasts. Despite suffering painful wounds from grenade fragments and enduring relentless enemy fire, he remained in the bunker, providing suppressive fire to cover the command group’s retreat to a new position. Once his comrades had relocated, Yabes moved through heavy enemy fire to another bunker 50 meters away. There, he retrieved a grenade launcher from a fallen soldier and fired directly at the attacking Viet Cong, halting further penetration of the perimeter.

Spotting two wounded soldiers trapped in the fire-swept area, Yabes risked his life to move them to safety, where they could receive medical treatment. He then resumed firing with remarkable accuracy, killing several enemy combatants and forcing others to retreat from the vicinity of the command post.

During the intense battle, Yabes identified an enemy machine gun position inside the perimeter that threatened the entire defense. Without hesitation, he charged across open ground under heavy fire, assaulted the machine gun, killed its crew, and destroyed the weapon. Tragically, he was mortally wounded in the process.

For his extraordinary heroism and selfless sacrifice, First Sergeant Yabes was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. In October 1968, Secretary of the Army Stanley Resor presented the Medal of Honor to Yabes’ wife and children in a ceremony at the Pentagon.