Fred Zabitosky Fred William Zabitosky ( October 27 , 1942 – January 18 , 1996 ) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military ' s highest decoration — the Medal of Honor — for his actions in the Vietnam War . Biography . Zabitosky joined the Army from his birth city of Trenton , New Jersey in 1959 , and by February 19 , 1968 was serving as a Staff Sergeant with the 5th Special Forces Group ( Airborne ) . On that day , while on reconnaissance patrol in Laos , his small team came under intense enemy fire . Zabitosky directed the defense until rescue helicopter s arrived , and when the helicopter that was to extract him from the battlefield crashed , he ignored his own injuries to save the downed craft ' s pilot . Zabitosky was later promoted to Sergeant First Class and , in 1969 , was presented with the Medal of Honor by President Richard Nixon . He retired from the Army after 30 years of service with the rank of Master Sergeant . Zabitosky , aged 53 at his death , was buried in Lumbee Memorial Park , Lumberton , North Carolina . A street , the former Community Access Road , on nearby Fort Bragg was named in his honor . Medal of Honor citation . Sergeant First Class Zabitosky ' s official Medal of Honor citation reads : For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty . Sfc . Zabitosky , U . S . Army , distinguished himself while serving as an assistant team leader of a 9 - man Special Forces long - range reconnaissance patrol . Sfc . Zabitosky ' s patrol was operating deep within enemy - controlled territory when they were attacked by a numerically superior North Vietnamese Army unit . Sfc . Zabitosky rallied his team members , deployed them into defensive positions , and , exposing himself to concentrated enemy automatic weapons fire , directed their return fire . Realizing the gravity of the situation , Sfc . Zabitosky ordered his patrol to move to a landing zone for helicopter extraction while he covered their withdrawal with rifle fire and grenades . Rejoining the patrol under increasing enemy pressure , he positioned each man in a tight perimeter defense and continually moved from man to man , encouraging them and controlling their defensive fire . Mainly due to his example , the outnumbered patrol maintained its precarious position until the arrival of tactical air support and a helicopter extraction team . As the rescue helicopters arrived , the determined North Vietnamese pressed their attack . Sfc . Zabitosky repeatedly exposed himself to their fire to adjust suppressive helicopter gunship fire around the landing zone . After boarding 1 of the rescue helicopters , he positioned himself in the door delivering fire on the enemy as the ship took off . The helicopter was engulfed in a hail of bullets and Sfc . Zabitosky was thrown from the craft as it spun out of control and crashed . Recovering consciousness , he ignored his extremely painful injuries and moved to the flaming wreckage . Heedless of the danger of exploding ordnance and fuel , he pulled the severely wounded pilot from the searing blaze and made repeated attempts to rescue his patrol members but was driven back by the intense heat . Despite his serious burns and crushed ribs , he carried and dragged the unconscious pilot through a curtain of enemy fire to within 10 feet of a hovering rescue helicopter before collapsing . Sfc . Zabitosky ' s extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself , his unit , and the U . S . Army .