Medal of Honor for Actions in Afghanistan
Honored Soldier “as humble as he is heroic”
The honor ceremony was both joyous and bittersweet. President Obama gave Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta the Medal of Honor while describing him “as humble as he is heroic”. This was the first time in forty (40) years that this honor has been given to a living service member.
The President went off script to say, “I really like this guy.” “When you meet Sal, and you meet his family, you are just absolutely convinced that this is what America is all about. It just makes you feel proud.” If this is what America is about, then this is front page news to me as a Marine and proud citizen of this country.
He saluted Giunta for “uncommon valor” and described in detail how he charged in to Taliban fire to assist a fallen soldier and to rescue another who had been captured during an ambush in Afghanistan on October 25, 2007.
Staff Sergeant Giunta gave a choked up response by saying, “I would give this back in a second to have my friends back with me right now.”
The President went on to say, “You may not believe that you deserve this honor, but it was your fellow soldiers who recommended you for this honor. By charging in to extreme enemy fire, you embody the warrior ethos that I will never leave a fallen comrade.”
Salvatore Giunta responded by saying, “Every single person I was with would have done what I did, possibly even better, but they were doing other things.”
Eleven of Giunta’s comrades fm the battle attended the ceremony in addition to Giunta’s family and parents of the two dead soldiers, one of whom Giunta had risked his life to save.
The Medal is for “unwavering courage” and “extraordinary heroism”.
He was then inducted in to the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes. Giunta is just the eighth person to receive a medal for service in Iraq and Afghanistan. Three thousand four hundred (3,400) have been bestowed since 1861.
I am writing this to illustrate how far off track our country is fm the day our country was founded for all the right reasons. This ceremony was page 5A news in the USA Today while the paper awarded the front page to former sports icons, alcoholic energy drinks and former high ranking military officers who are overpaid shielded mentors.
We worry about the leadership, financial crisis and where this country is going. We can start by putting everything in to perspective and making the real heroes’ front page news. This is a good start and we can build on everything fm this point.
If you start with honor, integrity, unwavering courage and extraordinary heroism, it’s easier for the rest to come together; whether a country, corporation or team. It’s all about caring levels and helping people help themselves.
Copyright by Chuck Grillo, Minnesota Hockey Camps, 24621 So Clark Lake, Rd P.O. Box 90, Nisswa, MN 56468-0090 Phone 218.96.2444 Fax 218.963.2325
Email: chuck@mnhockeycamps.com - All rights are reserved. No part of this book, blog OR template may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means without permission in writing from Minnesota Hockey Camps
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