3 CIBs

[frisco-kid]

During VN a man would have had to have fought in WWII, Korea, and either Dominican Republic or VN to have 3 CIBs. If he had fought in both the Dominican Republic and VN he would have received a CIB for one or the other, not both. During VN I'm guessing that there could have only been a few hundred senior NCOs with 3 CIBs. I ran across a couple of them in the airborne, but only one stands out in my memory.

When I first got to my company in the 101st the First Sergeant was Walter Sabalauski. He was 56yrs. old at the time. He was a short man, about 5'8", but built like a fire hydrant. I was impressed with how much time he spent in the field with us and that he could hump with the best of us. The older guys idolized him. For good reason.

Sometime in the first week of JUN66 [I got in-country 30JUN66], Charlie Company, 2/502 Parachute Infantry Regiment was doing Search and Destroy missions trying to locate the 24th NVA Regiment. This was NW of Dak To in the Central Highlands. Well, they found them. They made contact with what was later to be estimated to be a battalion-sized element. The company was immediately pinned down and on the verge of being overrun, taking heavy casualties. The CO, Cpt. Bill Carpenter, made the decision to call in an airstrike on his own position in an attempt to force the NVA to break contact. The airstrike was napalm. The enemy ceased fire and withdrew long enough for the company to consolidate, reorganize, and establish a defense perimeter and gather up their wounded. They were able to defend the position until reinforcements were able to reach them, and they were able to evacuate the wounded. During the entire battle 1SG Sabalauski exposed himself to danger many times, encouraging his men, setting up defensive positions, and helping evacuate the casualties. For his extraordinary heroism, he was awarded both the Distinguished Service Cross and the Silver Star. Cpt. Carpenter was also awarded the DSC. I stood at attention as General Westmoreland pinned the medals on both of them. The survivors of the battle called themselves Carpenter's Crispy Critters.

I often wondered what became of 1SGT. Sabalauski, so I did some research on him. This is what I found:
Walter Sabalauski was born in Lithuania in 1910. His family moved to the states when he was a child. He grew up in Chicago. From 1929-1937 he boxed professionally, losing only 2 fights out of 33 bouts. A car accident had ended his boxing career. In JUN41 he entered the Army. During WWII, he served in the Pacific Theater, fighting on the beachheads of the Solomon Islands, Guadalcanal, and the Philippines. During the Korean War he made the combat jump with the 187th Regiment Combat Team [Airborne]. In '63 he went to VN for the first time as an advisor attached to the 32nd Vietnamese Ranger Battalion. In '65 he fought in the Dominican Republic. He returned for his 2nd tour in VN in '66.

After this tour he returned to the states to serve as Cadet Regimental Sergeant Major at West Point. I guess he didn't like a desk job; he returned to VN and the 101st in '68. Command Sergeant Major Sabalauski retired in 1971.

He passed away in 1993 and was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetary. I'm proud to have served with him. He was a fearless leader in combat, a tough but fair NCO, and an approachable guy.

Command Sergeant Major Sabalauski's awards include the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, 8 Bronze Stars, 3 Air Medals, 6 Army Commedation Medals, 4 Purple Hearts, 3 awards or the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Master Parachutist Badge, and the campaign medals from WWII, Korea, Dominican Republic, and Vietnam.

The Air Assault School at Ft. Campbell, KY, home of the 101st Airborne Division [Air Assault], is named after him.

A SOLDIER'S SOLDIER

Did any of you others serve with any of these professional fighting men? How about you Marines?

[DMZ-LT]

Salute to CSM Sabalauski. I served with a CSM Baker who had fought in WWII , Korea and twice in Viet Nam. Great guy , would listen to his stories in awe. He said as far as combat went Viet Nam was the hardest

[Stick]

Command Sargent Major isn't a high enough rank for a man like CSM Walter Sabalauski. Thanks for sharing him Tom.

[39mto39g]

Hear is a Picture of a guy that was in our company in Dominican Republic. He was a Polock and His name started with a S and ended in Ski,
The reason I put this photo in is because he said he was in Korea and WW2 , And I being 18 thought what is this old guy doing hear. I didn't Know him very well except that he was friendly, That would be unuseual for an E7 or E8.
Im the one doing the James Deen impression.
Earily 66

Ron

[39mto39g]

forgot picture

[Jerry D]

Salute to CSM Sabalauski god bless himand his family for their service to their country

Thanks guys for allowing us a brief meeting with some truly outstanding individuals!

Haven't figured out how to add pictures to a thread,but if you'll look on pp.#2 of my pics on the gallery you'll see an older guy takein a shower under a canvas bucket.He was an SFC in the med. plat. and had 3 CMB's(WW II,Korea,Vietnam).He is also the only man I ever knew with glider wings with credit for one combat drop in Europe.He had been in the Merchant Marines prior to WW II and his ship had been sunk by a U-boat.Said he didn't get anything for that except for a horrible sunburn.

One story he told:
He was a medic with a unit in a battle with the Germans for a hotly contested city(forget which one).Finding himself in an open street when a German MG opened up he dashed full speed around a corner to get out of the line of fire and-TONK!-right smackdab into the bow of a Tiger tank.Finding himself pretty much eye-to-eye with the driver he noted that the German crew wore black uniforms with the infamous SS on the collars.Now in those days medics were supposed to be non-comatants and wore red crosses on helmet and armband and carried no weapons.The SS,however,had a reputation for not noticeing such details.He said he tipped his helmet to them(pointing out the red cross) and asked if they were getting along alright while waveing his arms around to show he had no weapons and backing slowly away.He said they were looking pretty grim and things weren't looking so good until he had backed up far enough for them to see he had peed all over himself at which point they burst out laughing and he sprinted back around the corner.He always reckoned that sometimes pure panic and a weak bladder weren't such a bad thing.

[MORTARDUDE]

Great stories ! Thanks !

Larry

[frisco-kid]

Ron

Was that the 82nd Abn. area? I believe he served with them there. I can't tell for sure, looking at the sergeant's back. You saying he was friendly would fit. He was very easy to talk to. Never talking down to you. Didn't want to piss him off, though.

Get those hands out of those pockets, soldier!



Hal

Great story! Pretty tough guy. And lucky! Had a ship sunk out from under him....as a civilian! Alot of those guys in those gliders didn't get out of them alive. Plus, 3 CMBs. He certainly led a charmed life. It's an honor to have served with the likes of some of these men.

[DMZ-LT]

It's been an honor to have served with the likes of you guys !