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Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army. Troop E, 5th
Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division. Place and date: Manila, Luzon, Philippine
Islands, 23 February 1945. Entered service at: Buffalo, N.Y. Birth: Buffalo,
N.Y. G.O. No.: 115, 8 December 1945. Citation: He was a scout when the
unit advanced with tanks along a street in Manila, Luzon, Philippine Islands.
Without warning, enemy machinegun and rifle fire from concealed positions
in the Customs building swept the street, striking down the troop commander
and driving his men to cover. As the officer lay in the open road, unable
to move and completely exposed to the pointblank enemy fire, Pfc. Grabiarz
voluntarily ran from behind a tank to carry him to safety, but was himself
wounded in the shoulder. Ignoring both the pain in his injured useless
arm and his comrades' shouts to seek the cover which was only a few yards
distant, the valiant rescuer continued his efforts to drag his commander
out of range. Finding this impossible, he rejected the opportunity to save
himself and deliberately covered the officer with his own body to form
a human shield, calling as he did so for a tank to maneuver into position
between him and the hostile emplacement. The enemy riddled him with concentrated
fire before the tank could interpose itself. Our troops found that he had
been successful in preventing bullets from striking his leader, who survived.
Through his magnificent sacrifice in gallantly giving his life to save
that of his commander, Pfc. Grabiarz provided an outstanding and lasting
inspiration to his fellow soldiers.
This data was extracted from the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, U.S. Senate, Medal of Honor Recipients: 1863-1973 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1973)
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