Vietnam veteran reflects

Originally published in 2016, Jerry Don Nash reflects on Bravo Company and one of his "brothers" who lost his life, on May 10, 1970. SpartaLive is honored to once again share this story on National Vietnam Veterans Day, March 29, 2022.

When Jerry Don Nash reflects back on the Mother’s Day Ambush of May 10, 1970, that took the lives of eight and wounded 18 of his brothers-in-arms, he says, “There were a lot of heroes not just on that day, but on many days.”

On that day, Specialist Leslie Sabo Jr., one of Nash’s brothers in Bravo Company, made the ultimate sacrifice and lost his life while saving the lives of his comrades. His bravery went unnoticed for 42 years until May 16 when President Barack Obama honored Sabo with the Congressional Medal of Honor with 120 men and family members of Bravo Company in attendance.

Nash, who is now retired after 33 years in the White County School System, was 21 when he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1969. He had just earned his bachelor’s degree at Tennessee Tech and was working on his graduate studies at University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Nash said his degree was in dairy nutrition, but the Army decided he would be a combat medic. He attended his basic training at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and immediately after completed his job training at Fort Campbell, Ky. Two weeks later, in November 1969, he was shipped to Vietnam, where he was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division, B (or Bravo) Company, 3rd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment.

Nash said they were a reactionary force in a mountainous region of Vietnam fighting the Vietcong. The men were air assaulted into the area from helicopters. Nash said they were booby-trapped, shot at by snipers, and surprised by hit-and-run attacks. They were fighting all the time. In a 100-day period, Nash said they lost 18 men.

On May 5, the Battalion was sent into Cambodia for intelligence gathering and as a blocking force along the Ho Chi Minh trail. The battalion had so many bullets flying at them it took 22 attempts for the helicopters to land.

On May 10, the men were ambushed in all directions in a battle that lasted from 3 p.m. that day until 9 a.m. the next morning.

According to Sabo’s Medal of Honor Citation, during the battle, Sabo charged an enemy position, killing several enemy soldiers. He then assaulted an enemy flanking force to draw their fire away from his brothers, forcing the enemy to retreat. He ran across a field to a wounded comrade to reload his weapon and an enemy grenade landed near him. Sabo picked up the grenade and threw it while shielding his comrade with his own body, saving his comrade’s life, but seriously wounding himself.

Sabo then charged an enemy bunker and inflicted severe damage to them while being shot several times. Although he was mortally wounded, Sabo continued to crawl toward the enemy and pulled the pin on a grenade, holding it until the last second, knowing it would kill him but also knowing it would destroy the enemy bunker.

Nash remarked, “There were a lot of heroes that day, but Les really exemplified himself.”

Nash said he was approximately 30 feet away from Sabo when he lost his life.

By the next morning Bravo Company was running low on ammunition and called in artillery and gunships. The 18 wounded and eight men who lost their lives were evacuated on helicopters, although Nash stated there were many more injuries than what were reported, because flesh wounds from flying shrapnel were not counted as injuries.

Nash received the Bronze Star for his valor that day, an honor he does not like to talk about.

Nash isn’t sure what the toll was for the enemy force.

“Stars and Stripes says we killed 48 of them,” he said. “I don’t know how many there were. It was a big force.”

Two years after he was drafted, Nash left the Army and returned to White County. He has kept in touch with several of his Army buddies throughout the years, even attending yearly reunions for Bravo Company in locations around the country. Forty-two years later, he got the call of a lifetime.

Sabo’s widow, Rose Mary Sabo-Brown, received a telephone call three months ago from President Obama that Les Sabo was to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, and he wanted Brown to come to the White House to receive it on Les’ behalf.

Brown asked the president if her Bravo brothers could attend as well. The president invited the entire Bravo Company, as well as the widows and family members of the men of Bravo Company who did not make it home.

Nash said when they arrived in Washington D.C., they were treated like royalty. They were even escorted to their hotel in a motorcade.

The next day, after making it through five levels of security, the men and families of Bravo Company were recognized by President Obama, who asked the men of Bravo Company to stand and be recognized by a “grateful nation.” President Obama remarked, “No words will ever be truly worthy of their service. And no honor can ever fully repay their sacrifice. But on days such as this we can pay tribute. We can express our gratitude. And we can thank God that there are patriots and families such as these.”

The president also apologized for the way Vietnam veterans were treated when they returned home and promised that American troops would never again experience such disrespect.

During the ceremony, President Obama presented Brown with Sabo’s medal, awarded for “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.”

Nash said that afterward, the President and First Lady shook hands with each of the men and family members of Bravo Company and expressed their appreciation for their service. When one man became overwrought with emotion, First Lady Michelle Obama embraced him as he wept.

“They were real, down-to-earth people,” Nash said.

The President and First Lady even posed for a photo with the Bravo Company family before everyone headed to a reception.

Nash was one of the 12 men selected to meet with the top officials of the Army at the Pentagon the next day. He received a tour of the Pentagon and lunch with four top Army officials who talked with the men of Bravo Company about all the lessons they learned from studying the battles of the soldiers in Vietnam.

General Campbell took the men in his office and gave each of them large dog tag shaped challenge coins to commemorate their visit.

Another ceremony was held at the Pentagon as they inducted Sabo into their Hall of Heroes.

It was a remarkable experience for Nash. He explained, “For a boy from White County to experience that!”

Nash said he was very impressed with how the government came together in honor of Sabo.

“It was very bi-partisan, I have to say,” Nash said. “Congress doesn’t agree on much, but they did agree on this.”

Before the men of Bravo Company headed home, they made one last stop – Vietnam Memorial The Wall – to remember their brothers who did not come home.

Nash said the coming-together every year has been very beneficial for Bravo Company.

“The reunions have helped in that we can relate to each other, and we can talk to each other,” Nash said. “Everybody knows what you’re going through, so it’s been a good thing for us.”

Nash became emotional as he commented, “The thing that frustrates me sometimes is that our society has dropped to the point that ball players are signing $100 million contracts, and the rock stars that die of a drug overdose get a week or two of national publicity while we have soldiers that are killed, like in Afghanistan, and they hardly get their names mentioned.”

Nash was reluctant to talk about the war, but ultimately he said he wanted to take the opportunity to honor Sabo. Although the people of White County never knew Sabo, Nash wanted to tell them a little bit about him.

“It’s an honor to me that I got to serve with someone who received the Medal of Honor,” Nash reflected.