Posted on 09/10/2010 8:55:32 PM PDT by rickb308
ACTION FROM WHICH THE MEDAL OF HONOR WAS EARNED: 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 defeat an enemy ambush and recover a fellow American paratrooper from enemy hands.
(Excerpt) Read more at hotair.com ...
Makes me proud to be American once again.
I will make one comment:God bless and keep you Specialist Giunta.
Proves that Heroes still live amongst us.
Riveting reading, My up most respect also. Thanks for posting this.
Bout time we recognize one of the millions of acts of heroism and courage on the battlefields over the past nine years to someone who lived to tell the tale.
Shame on us for only ‘doing the paperwork’ for posthumous awards. Thank God someone was willing to see this through for this young soldier, and thank God for all the others who go unrecognized.
They are heroes until the end of days.
Kit.
Can you imagine getting that call from the president and listening to the honor that will soon be conferred?
Is it true that MoH recipients are saluted by the president first and then the recipient returns the salute?
That has been historically true, but this president has declared his intention to change our traditions.
I also know of some cases in which Soldiers/Marines/Airmen repeatedly exposed themselves to enemy fire to rescue commrades. Sometimes three or four times in a single firefight. They were awarded Silver Stars or DSCs. The USAF Para rescue member who was running with the Rangers during Operation Anaconda, early on in Afghanistan, comes to mind.
While I have the utmost respect for this man's gallantry under fire, I'm not seeing MOH material here unless there is more to the citation. I'm hoping there is more. I don't want to feel like this is a political contrivance to allow BO some face time during a photo op. My wife always tells me I'm a cynic.
Prior to any flames telling me I don't have the right to make the above comment, I have served in combat, and been shot at; many times in fact.
This is possibly why the enemy hides behind burkas and civilians - THEY HAVE NO HEROES.
IIRC tradition is such as you mentioned. Also any Military Personnel who sees him with his Medal on will by tradition Salute him first No matter if he is a Private and the one doing the Saluting is a 5 Star General, and not just the once that is ANY time wears it.
The sad part of this is that Imam Obama will probably present the medal to this living hero. He isn’t worthy to clean this soldier’s boots.
lol. No he hasn’t. That is funny though and actually believable.
Well, I guess you can write your congressman about your concerns, Gum. Too bad you weren't in the chain of approval for his award, then you could have put the kid in for an AAM with V-device...
I think those V-device bronze stars and so forth that we've both seen awarded might have sometimes merited something higher.
I have a pet peeve toward what I've seen as 'rank appropriate' awards given. I'm delighted to see a (then) Specialist receive this award, and I think there are others out there who deserved the same but their chain of command didn't have the cohones to follow through, or their chain of command had rank-based award criteria that they followed.
Piss on that. I don't care if it was a private, or a teats-on-a-boar-hog sergeant major, or a staff puke major, that did something heroic - by God let's give them their due.
If you take a look at history, you'll find that the CMH awardees through the years have gotten slimmer and slimmer. Our soldiers/Marines/sailors/airmen haven't changed. The only thing that's changed is jealous generals who can't get such an award and lazy ass staff officers (adjutants) who won't see such a thing through.
Dammit. These kids are doing great things and shame on us if we don't recognize them for it.
Kit.
USA, OEF, OIF, OEF, OIF
Been there, done that.
The Medal of Honor is being under awarded. Until now there has not been a living recipient for an action since 1972. Every award has been posthumous. You cannot tell me that in the conflicts since 1972 there are not living American servicemen who have not met the following criteria:
“[Conspicuous] gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against any enemy of the United States; while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or while serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.”
The DOD bureaucracy has been downgrading worthy recipients and only allowing posthumous awards to go through. Just compare the awards of the Medal of Honor versus the Victoria Cross (which has effectively the same standard for an award) for the war since 9/11:
Victoria Cross:
Living: 3
Posthumous: 1
Medal of Honor:
Living: 1
Posthumous: 7
Given the numbers of Commonwealth (UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand) service members in action versus the number of American service members in action, our troops are getting screwed by our own Department of Defence.
BTTT!
Wow. That’s awesome! Please extend my thanks from a greatful American when you see him!
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