 While back on Saipan fighting Japanese guerrillas still on the island, he was seriously wounded in an enemy machine gun ambush.Gabaldon claimed he was credited with the capture of approximately 1,500 Japanese soldiers and civilians on Saipan and Tinian and was recommended for the Medal of Honor by his commanding officer Captain John Schwabe, who noted that Gabaldon single-handedly captured more than "ten times" the number of prisoners taken by legendary Medal of Honor recipient, Sgt.Alvin C. York, in World War I.