Salvatore Giunta
Salvatore A. Giunta | |
|---|---|
 Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta | |
| Nickname(s) | "Sal" |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 2003–present |
| Rank | Staff Sergeant (SSG) |
| Unit | 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team |
| Battles / wars | War in Afghanistan |
| Awards | Medal of Honor Army Commendation x2 |
Salvatore A. Giunta (born January 21, 1985) is a soldier in the United States Army who will be the first living person since the Vietnam War to receive the Medal of Honor, to be awarded for actions in the War in Afghanistan in 2007.
Personal life
Giunta was born in Hiawatha, Iowa, in 1985, the son of Steven and Rosemary Giunta.[1] He attended Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and enlisted in the Army in 2003.[2] He was recently married.[3]
Military career
Giunta attended basic training and infantry school at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was first deployed to Afghanistan from March 2005 until March 2006, while his second tour lasted from May 2007 until July 2008. Giunta was promoted to staff sergeant in August 2009 and is currently stationed with his wife at Caserma Ederle, the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team's base near Vicenza, Italy.[4]
Giunta's military decorations include the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, two Army Commendation Medals, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Parachutist Badge.[1]
Medal of Honor
In October 2007, Giunta's eight-man squad was moving in bright moonlight along a wooded ridgeline in the Korangal Valley[5] when 22 to 25 Taliban forces[6] mounted an ambush that was coordinated from three sides[7] at such close range that close air support could not be provided to Giunta's unit. Sergeant Josh Brennan, who was walking point, was wounded in eight places. Giunta, then a specialist, who had been the fourth soldier back, was shot in the chest but was saved by his ballistic vest.[8] Moving, firing, and throwing a hand grenade, Giunta advanced up the trail to assist Staff Sergeant Erick Gallardo and, later, Specialist Franklin Eckrode, whose M249 machine gun had jammed and who was badly wounded.[5] Continuing up the trail, Giunta saw two enemy fighters, one of whom was Mohammad Tali (considered a high value target),[9] dragging Brennan down the hillside and towards the forest. Giunta attacked the insurgents with his M4 carbine, killing Tali,[10] and ran to Brennan to provide cover and comfort until relief arrived.[8]
I ran through fire to see what was going on with him and maybe we could hide behind the same rock and shoot together ... He was still conscious. He was breathing. He was asking for morphine. I said, "You'll get out and tell your hero stories," and he was like, "I will, I will."[11]
Sergeant Brennan did not survive surgery. According to his father, Michael Brennan, "not only did [Giunta try to] save [my son] Josh ... He really saved half of the platoon."[12]
On September 10, 2010, the White House announced that Giunta would receive the United States' highest military decoration, the first awarded to a living recipient since the Vietnam War.[13][14]
White House action account
Then-Specialist Salvatore A. Giunta distinguished himself by acts of gallantry at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a rifle team leader with Company B, 2d Battalion (Airborne), 503d Infantry Regiment during combat operations against an armed enemy in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan on October 25, 2007.
When an insurgent force ambush split Specialist 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, Specialist 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 to defeat an enemy ambush and recover a fellow American paratrooper from enemy hands.[15]
See also
References
- ^ a b Crumb, Michael J. (2010-09-10). "Living Soldier to receive Medal of Honor for action in Afghanistan". United States Army. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
- ^ "First Medal of Honor for a living Afghan war vet". The Associated Press. Yahoo! News. 2010-09-10. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
- ^ Shaughnessy, Larry (2010-09-10). "At last, hero of ongoing war is alive to receive Medal of Honor". CNN. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
- ^ "Soldier Who Risked Life to Save Another to be Awarded Medal of Honor". Associated Press. FoxNews.com. 2010-09-10. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
- ^ a b Whitlock, Craig. "Obama awards living soldier the Medal of Honor". The Washington Postdate=2010-09-10. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|coauthor=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Thomas, Rob (2010-08-26). "'Restrepo' documentary hits home for family of Sgt. Josh Brennan". The Capital Times. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
- ^ Shanker, Thom (2010-09-10). "Iowa Man to Receive First Non-Posthumous Medal of Honor Since Vietnam". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ a b Tan, Michelle (2010-07-06). "173rd Airborne soldier recommended for MoH". Army Times. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
- ^ Rubin, Elizabath (2010-04-11). "Mother courage: being pregnant on the frontline". The Observer. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
- ^ Rubin, Elizabeth (2008-02-24). "Battle Company Is Out There". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
- ^ Sebastian Junger, War, Hachette Book Group USA May 2010.
- ^ Verburg, Steven (2010-09-10). "Medal of Honor for reluctant hero who prevented capture of wounded Wisconsin soldier". Wisconsin State Journal.
- ^ Beaumont, Peter. "US paratrooper set to win highest military honour". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2010-07-11.
- ^ Johnston, Nicholas. "Obama to Award Medal of Honor to Living Soldier for First Time". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
- ^ Lee, Jesse (2010-09-10). "A Call to Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta". www.whitehouse.gov. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
External links
- "'War' excerpt about Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta's actions". Stars and Stripes. 2010-09-10. Retrieved 2010-09-11.