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A man in a military dress uniform poses for a photo.
Army Sgt. 1st Class Fred W. Zabitosky, Medal of Honor recipient.
Episode 2719 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about Army Master Sgt. Fred W. Zabitosky and his Congressional Medal of Honor award. The featured story comes from The U.S. Department of Defense website and was titled: Medal of Honor Monday Army: Master Sgt. Fred W. Zabitosky. It was submitted by Katie Lange, a writer for DOD News.
Lange, in her story, reported that Special Forces soldiers serving during the Vietnam War often operated behind enemy lines during treacherous situations. Army Master Sgt. Fred William Zabitosky did this often with his team of Green Berets. During a 1968 helicopter crash, he refused to give up on the men around him. His efforts that day earned him the Medal of Honor.
Lange added this about Zabitosky, Zabitosky was born Oct. 27, 1942, into a poor community in Trenton, New Jersey, to parents Cora and Fred T. Zabitosky. When Zabitosky was 15, his father left the family, forcing the teen to take responsibility for his mother, brother and three sisters. To earn money for the family, Zabitosky dropped out of high school after his junior year. At age 17, he realized that joining the military could offer better stability and support, so in 1959, he enlisted in the Army.
After basic training, Zabitosky was sent to Germany for three years, where he served with distinction before coming home and rejoining civilian life. He got a job working construction, but he wasn’t happy with that, so he decided to reenlist in 1963, this time to join the Special Forces. After much training, he became a Green Beret with the 5th Special Forces Group. In 1964, Zabitosky married his girlfriend, Carrie Mae, before being sent to Vietnam.
Listen to episode 2719 and discover more about Vietnam Vet Army Master Sgt. Fred W. Zabitosky and his Congressional Medal of Honor award.
