By GI Korea on September 11th, 2010 at 5:06 am

US Army Paratrooper SSG Salvatore Giunta To Be Awarded the Medal of Honor

» by GI Korea in: US Military

With all the talk about US military awards being handed out like candy, the Medal of Honor is one award that hasn’t been handed out as much as in prior conflicts. This September 11th for the first time since the Vietnam War a living soldier will be awarded the Medal Honor for his combat actions in Afghanistan:

Army Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta will be the first living Medal of Honor recipient since the Vietnam War.

On Thursday, President Obama spoke with Giunta, who is assigned to 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, in Vicenza, Italy, to inform him that he will be awarded the nation’s highest valor award, according to the White House.

Giunta, 25, will be honored for his actions during a fierce firefight Oct. 25, 2007, in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley.

According to the White House announcement, when an insurgent force ambush split Giunta’s squad into two groups, he exposed himself to enemy fire to pull a comrade back to cover. Later, while engaging the enemy and attempting to link up with the rest of his squad, Giunta noticed two insurgents carrying away a fellow soldier. He immediately engaged the enemy, killing one and wounding the other, and provided medical aid to his wounded comrade while the rest of his squad caught up and provided security.

His courage and leadership while under extreme enemy fire were integral to his platoon’s ability defeat an enemy ambush and recover a fellow American paratrooper from enemy hands, according to the White House. [Army Times]

Tags: Medal of Honor, Salvatore Giunta

- 538 views

Matt
12:40 am on September 11th, 2010 1
Kudos to him! Hell of an NCO!
Kwanzai East
1:40 am on September 11th, 2010 2
Airborne FTW!
Teadrinker
9:27 am on September 11th, 2010 3
"According to the White House announcement, when an insurgent force ambush split Giunta’s squad into two groups, he exposed himself to enemy fire to pull a comrade back to cover. Later, while engaging the enemy and attempting to link up with the rest of his squad, Giunta noticed two insurgents carrying away a fellow soldier. He immediately engaged the enemy, killing one and wounding the other, and provided medical aid to his wounded comrade while the rest of his squad caught up and provided security."

Impressive. Aren't any of these two sufficient to earn him the highest honors?
Teadrinker
11:47 am on September 11th, 2010 4
I meant to ask if just one of these two acts would be enough to earn him that medal.
Tom Langley
1:55 pm on September 11th, 2010 5
Hooah!
Zilchy
8:02 pm on September 11th, 2010 6
The man has an American set of balls. Good for him! The fact that he's Italian-American, also helps! My guinea!
JoeC
7:43 am on November 21st, 2010 7
Here is an opinion on military heroism from someone who probably should not receive another dollar of tax free donations for his opinions again; Bryan Fischer.

We have feminized the Medal of Honor.

According to Bill McGurn of the Wall Street Journal, every Medal of Honor awarded during these two conflicts has been awarded for saving life. Not one has been awarded for inflicting casualties on the enemy. Not one.

Gen. George Patton once famously said, "The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other guy die for his."

When we think of heroism in battle, we used the think of our boys storming the beaches of Normandy under withering fire, climbing the cliffs of Pointe do Hoc while enemy soldiers fired straight down on them, and tossing grenades into pill boxes to take out gun emplacements.

That kind of heroism has apparently become passe when it comes to awarding the Medal of Honor. We now award it only for preventing casualties, not for inflicting them.

So the question is this: when are we going to start awarding the Medal of Honor once again for soldiers who kill people and break things so our families can sleep safely at night?

I would suggest our culture has become so feminized that we have become squeamish at the thought of the valor that is expressed in killing enemy soldiers through acts of bravery. We know instinctively that we should honor courage, but shy away from honoring courage if it results in the taking of life rather than in just the saving of life. So we find it safe to honor those who throw themselves on a grenade to save their buddies.
Vince
9:59 am on November 21st, 2010 8
Did Fischer ever serve, wartime or not, in a line outfit?
JoeC
10:06 am on November 21st, 2010 9
#8

No. That's why I linked to his bio.
Retired GI
10:49 am on November 21st, 2010 10
I would not dismiss Mr. Fisher's statement so easily. There might be some truth there.

As for his lack of service, he has an opinion. Experience has never been a qualifier for an opinion. Just look at the White House.