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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Topic Author's Original Post - Sep 12, 2010 - 01:23am PT
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Sgt Giunta will be the first living recipient from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Naturally the sargeant said:
"What I remember and what I would like to tell people is that it was not me doing everything..."
whatever you say, sarge!
WASHINGTON (AP) — The first living service member from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to receive the Medal of Honor said Saturday the award honors more than a dozen fellow soldiers who were part of a deadly ambush three years ago.
"What I remember and what I would like to tell people is that it was not me doing everything," said Army Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta, in a telephone interview from Vicenza Italy, where he now serves.
According to the Army, Giunta, 25, of Hiawatha, Iowa, exposed himself to enemy gunfire to try to save two fellow soldiers.
He will become the eighth service member to receive the Medal of Honor during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The seven previous medals were awarded posthumously.
Giunta learned of the rare honor when he got a phone call from President Barack Obama on Thursday, he said.
"My wife was with me, and she heard me say, 'Mr. President,' so we knew then," Giunta told The Associated Press.
Giunta was serving as a rifle team leader with Company B, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment when an insurgent ambush split his squad into two groups on Oct. 25, 2007, in the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan, the White House said in a news release.
Giunta went above and beyond the call of duty when he exposed himself to enemy fire to pull a fellow soldier back to cover, the White House said. He engaged the enemy again when he saw two insurgents carrying away a wounded soldier, Sgt. Joshua C. Brennan, 22, of McFarland, Wis. Giunta killed one insurgent and wounded the other before tending to Brennan, who died the next day.
"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 soldier from enemy hands," the White House said.
About 16 soldiers fought alongside him, Giunta said, and all did their part.
"My piece of the puzzle is what everyone is interested in right now, but it was not the only one," Giunta said.
Giunta still serves with the same unit. The rest of his unit is deployed in Afghanistan again, but he is based in Italy in a support role.
The White House has not scheduled a ceremony to award the medal.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/wire/sns-ap-us-obama-medal-of-honor,0,1051216.story
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John Moosie
climber
Beautiful California
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Sep 12, 2010 - 01:28am PT
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Proud Service..
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Porkchop_express
Trad climber
Springdale UT
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Sep 12, 2010 - 02:13am PT
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Wow! hats off to him and the rest of the armed forces. I spent a bus ride talking to a young marine in 2005 who was home on leave after being in Iraq (he was 19 and I was 23) and it really hit home, what these guys and girls have to go through even when they arent wounded, just living through some of that sh#t at such a young age. Those are some proud mofos. I am thankful for them all.
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Papillon Rendre
climber
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Sep 12, 2010 - 04:19am PT
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An honor worthy of this hero, Sgt. Giunta.
This is an incredible act of courage.
Much respect.
-PR
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Sep 12, 2010 - 02:33pm PT
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Excellent post!
The American fighting man, still proud, still some of the best in the world.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 30, 2010 - 02:25am PT
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Here's a 14 minute video about Staff Sgt Giunta by Sebastian Junger and Tim
Hetherington:
http://restrepothemovie.com/
"I didn't do sh#t."
_
It is on the same web page as the film "Restrepo" which was also done by
Junger and Hetherington. Just saw it on Nat Geo. It might be the best war
documentary I've seen - no quarter asked and none given - raw and honest.
"Restrepo" won the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at the 2010 Sundance.
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Ken M
Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
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Nov 30, 2010 - 02:52am PT
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In the introduction to her 60 Minutes piece on Giunta, CBS correspondent Lara Logan noted that the Medal is awarded for “extreme bravery in the face of almost certain death.” Giunta exhibits all the qualities we expect in our heroes: humility, courage, calm.
After Giunta referred to himself as “mediocre,” Logan said, “This is the single greatest honor that the military can bestow on its own, and it comes right from the President of the United States himself. That’s pretty good for a mediocre soldier.” “Think how good the great soldiers are,” Giunta responded, without hesitation.
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