Tomorrow, the President will award the Medal of Honor to Army SSGT Salvatore Giunta. He describes himself as an "average soldier"
You the judge of that. From Subway sandwich maker to the Medal of Honor.
Bravo Zulu.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoEZKyIAPIQ&feature=related

The vast majority of CMH winners consider themselves ordinary people. Studies have shown that what most all of them have in common is that they are unselfish people who care deeply about their fellow soldiers.

Many people believe that men fight for Mom, the flag and Apple pie. In fact, by and large, what they fight for is each other.

It's great to see one receive the medal themselves as opposed to their family members receiving it.

Thanks for the post Dynalow!

Never ending salutes to SSGT Giunta; our nation's thanks to you.

I just got around the watching the video.


I should have watched it days ago.


guys like that are what makes this nation great. There is nothing else I can say that would add to his actions, his humility or the actions of those around him. "I'm an average soldier...Imagine what the great ones are like."


Thank you again for the post.

-Tsgt J. Grube, OHANG

__________________
2009 Kia Sedona
2009 Honda Odyssey EX-L
12006 Jetta Pumpe Duse
(insert Mercedes here)

Husband, Father, sometimes friend =)

A truly great individual!
How much play did this get on any major news organization? Is there an agenda at work, here?

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

I saw him on NBC Nightly News, One on One interview.
If he was any more numble I'd think it was staged.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/

Quotations are para phrased.
He felt the two men that died that day "they gave up the rest of their tomorrows" deserved credit.

"I've served with many men, much much braver than I am

The kid deserves credit beyond the MOH.

__________________
KLK, MCSE

1990 500SL

I was always taught to respect my elders.
I don't have to respect too many people anymore.

The sad thing is that our society ( maybe most societies) has no mechanism to reward people of this caliber as they should be.
We are a materialistic society. Hence we honor the inventor of some new video game, or the winner of "Survivor" or "Great Race" more highly than a true hero. I doubt that there is a way to correct this. If he tries to cash in on his fame, some would say he dishonors the MOH; if he doesn't, some would call him a sap. lose--lose.
I wish him, and his ilk success. ( First ever use of "ilk" in a positive manner!!)

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

At one o'clock today in the East Room of the White House, an Iowa-born soldier will receive the nation's highest decoration for valor in combat. In our nine-year war in Afghanistan and Iraq, this is only the eighth Medal of Honor. Even more rare, the man who has earned it is the first from this war to live to see the president place it around his neck.

The soldier is Army Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta. On Oct. 25, 2007, then-Specialist Giunta and his team were on a mountain ridge in Afghanistan's violent Korengal Valley when they were ambushed by the Taliban. He took a bullet stopped by a protective vest as he helped pull one soldier to safety.

Then he went forward to help the sergeant, Joshua Brennan, who had been walking point. Two Taliban were carrying Sgt. Brennan away. Spec. Giunta shot the Taliban and brought Sgt. Brennan back.

Here we are reminded that in war there are few storybook endings: Sgt. Brennan would soon die of his wounds.

As a speechwriter for George W. Bush, it was my privilege to write speeches for some of these Medal of Honor ceremonies. Words, however, cannot capture what it's like to watch the surviving moms, dads, brothers, wives and sisters standing up there with a president, hearts bursting with pride over their loved one's achievement, aching with a loss that will never be filled. Because he has lived, Sgt. Giunta's ceremony will be a happier occasion.

Not that he's ready to be called a hero. "I'm not at peace with that at all," he said on "60 Minutes" Sunday night. "And coming and talking about it and people wanting to shake my hand because of it, it hurts me because it's not what I want. And to be with so many people doing so much stuff and then to be singled out . . ."

Sgt. Giunta's words, of course, remind us that he does not need this ceremony. The ceremony is for the rest of us. It reminds us of the sacrifices made so we can sleep easy at night—and of the kind of fighting man our society has produced.

What kind of man is that? When we think of military heroism, we may think of Rambos decorated for great damage inflicted on the enemy. In fact, the opposite is true. Every Medal of Honor from these wars has been for an effort to save life. Even more telling, each specifically recognizes bravery that cannot be commanded.

Of the eight who have earned it, three—Army Pfc. Ross McGinniss, Navy Petty Officer Michael Monsoor, Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham—threw themselves on grenades to protect their comrades. Navy Lt. Michael Murphy knowingly exposed himself to enemy fire so he could call in help for his team.

Army Staff Sgt. Jared Monti died trying to rescue a fellow soldier. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Miller was killed while diverting gunfire from Taliban forces so his team could carry their commander to safety. Army Sgt. First Class Paul Ray Smith—the first from these wars to earn the Medal—took on an overwhelming Iraqi force from a machine gun atop a disabled armored personnel carrier, allowing the safe withdrawal of many wounded American soldiers.

On that ridge in Afghanistan, Salvatore Giunta could not save his sergeant. But he did deprive the enemy of its victory—and death of some of its sting. In that same "60 Minutes" segment, a fellow soldier (who earned a Silver Star in the same firefight) put it this way. "The last thing Brennan ever saw was us," says Sgt. Erick Gallardo. "You know, he saw us fighting for him. . . . We fought for him and he's home with his family now because of that." It's a soldier's gift. Because of Sgt. Giunta, the family of Josh Brennan know that when their loved one breathed his last, he did so knowing he was among friends willing to put their own lives at risk for him.

There was a day when our highest military distinction would be understood for both the rarity and the honor that it is. It no longer seems to work that way. Maybe it's the price of an all-volunteer professional force. When more of us served, we knew what a Medal of Honor meant—and we knew about Silver Stars, Distinguished Service Crosses, and Bronze Stars too.

Whatever the reason, it's unrealistic to expect any nation, even a wartime America, to spend every hour commemorating those who defend us. Which is precisely why we have the Medal of Honor, and the public ceremonies attached to it. For a brief, national moment, a warrior is held up to the American people as an example to his fellows—and the embodiment of our highest ideals.

Today at the White House, Barack Obama and Salvatore Giunta will give us such a moment. Let's hope we're not too busy to notice.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703326204575616572168606014.html?mod=djemEditorialPage_h

You are absolutely correct.

In the last year or so of World War II and for awhile after VJ day, my Dad was a member of the Secretary of the Navy Staff in Washington, DC. He said that they commonly had to drop what they were doing to go stand in formation at the Whitehouse during the presentation of a CMH. He said that on a few hot days, they would stand at attention for hours in waiting, to a point that a few of them would pass out from standing in the heat. He said that he never heard ONE SINGLE complaint.

The sad thing is that he did not remember any of the particular recipients names. He did say that not long after VJ day, a Marine Pilot that had been a POW was one of them. I have always thought that this must have been Pappy Boyington.

They don't call my Dad's age group "The Greatest Generation" for nothing. Americans of that era fought and won the war and not because of the draft, but because it was their duty. The people at home also sacrificed and most of them were willing to do whatever they could to help.

I remember hearing one of the fellows who was one of the real "Band of Brothers" saying that there were several people in his home town that committed suicide because they COULD NOT go fight the war. As he said, that was a different time.

The military we have today are ALL there because they volunteered. No draft, just answering their nations call. Whether they are medal winners or not, they unselfishly offer their time for their country.

This is the first I've heard of it. I don't watch TV or radio news, but none of the online sources I read had a "front page" story that I noticed. On the other hand, I'm not really sure this is news and I might not have remember seeing it; I'm sure I wouldn't take the time to read it any more than any other "local hero" fluff pieces that occasionally show up.

That is sad.
Not so much an indictment of you, personally, but on our society, as a whole.

__________________
1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

es get some benefits but they are not a lot compared to what he earned:

1. 1500/month til the day he dies...untaxed
2. GI Bill for his children, plus potential for a West Point appoiintment if they are eligible scholastically
3. Regular Army retirement
4. One of the best...ALL officers in the US Army must salute him when he is wearing the MOH

I have his e-mail address and I'm sending him a congratulatory note tomorrow.

I saw the thing live today on an Army hookup.

__________________
Strelnik
Invest in America: Buy a Congressman!

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strelnik,

I, like you, like number four the best. The irony though is that due to the nature of most CMH winners it's probably not that important to them. An exception MIGHT have been Audie Murphy.

I watched some of it on TV and it was great.

It's just the way it is. Do you post a comment every time you see a local news story about a firefighter or police officer who saves some people?

I'm sure this guy deserves his decoration, but I can't help thinking that these ceromonies have more to do with politics, moral building for the troops, and building support from the public than anything else. We all hear reports of military casualties almost everyday; at this point most people don't even listen. I'm sure most of the reports of civilian deaths are never even reported by the american media. Finding a (deserving) medal recipient every once and a while is one way of injecting some "good news" into this mess. In other words, it's primarily a PR exercise and the media is not going to fall all over itself reporting on it like they would have 60 years ago.