World War II Medal of Honor Recipient. He posthumously received the award on December 8, 1945 for his actions as a private first class with Troop E, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, US Army, on February 23, 1945 in Manila, Philippines. He joined the US Army in April 1943 and was sent to the Pacific Theater of Operations. On February 23, 1945, during the Liberation of Manila, Philippines from Japanese forces, he voluntarily braved enemy fire in order to rescue a wounded officer who lay in an exposed position. He was wounded in the process and tried unsuccessfully to drag the officer to safety, he then used his body to shield the man from hostile fire and was killed at the age of 19. He was also awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, the Asian-Pacific Campaign Medal (with four service stars and arrowhead device), the World War II Victory Medal, and the Philippine Liberation Medal (with three service stars). His Medal of Honor citation reads: "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."