Maximo Yabes, First Sergeant in the United States Army with Company A, 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division, was born on January 29, 1932, in Lodi, California, and on February 26, 1967, near Phu Hoa Dong, Republic of Vietnam, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while his company provided security for a land clearing operation. Early that morning, the company came under intense automatic weapons and mortar fire followed by a battalion-sized assault from three sides, and as the enemy penetrated the defensive perimeter and advanced on the company command post bunker, Yabes shouted a warning when several enemy grenades landed inside and used his body as a shield to protect others. Though painfully wounded by grenade fragments and despite heavy fire on the bunker, he stayed to provide covering fire so the command group could relocate, then moved through intense enemy fire to another bunker fifty meters away, where he took a grenade launcher from a fallen comrade and fired point blank into the attacking Viet Cong, stopping further penetration of the perimeter. Seeing two wounded men helpless in the fire-swept area, he moved them to a safer position for medical treatment, then resumed accurate and effective fire, killing several enemy soldiers and forcing others to withdraw from the vicinity of the command post. As the battle continued, he saw an enemy machine-gun within the perimeter threatening the whole position, dashed across the exposed area on his own, assaulted the machine-gun, killed the crew, destroyed the weapon, and fell mortally wounded. His valiant and selfless actions saved the lives of many fellow soldiers, inspired his comrades to repel the assault, and reflected the highest military traditions.