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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Medal of Honor recipient and Iowa native Staff Sgt. Sal Giunta will end his Army career in June and move to Colorado to pursue his education, a military spokesman said Tuesday. Giunta has opted not to re-enlist and will leave the Army in mid-June, said Army Spokesman George Wright. He and his wife, Jenny, plan to move to Fort Collins, Colo., where he will attend school. Wright said he didn't know what school Giunta will attend, but Fort Collins is home to Colorado State University. Giunta is the first living service member from the wars...

CHICAGO — It was years in the making, so Staff Sgt. Sal Giunta had time to talk with his wife about the "what if" question. He'd been recommended for the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military decoration. If chosen, his name would be in headlines. His face in the spotlight. He'd be a celebrity. And again and again, he'd have to tell strangers the harrowing story of a deadly ambush in Afghanistan. "He was worried," says Giunta's wife, Jenny. "He didn't know how he was going able to talk to people about it. He couldn't even talk to me....

FORT LEWIS, Wa. — Mark Zuckerberg is a name I grew quite familiar with even through my year in Kandahar. Facebook was the novelty through which I interacted with most of the world back home. Though it was accessible only on our trips to the forward operating base — no connectivity on our stranded outpost in the Zhari District. Despite all that Facebook meant to me while at war, I was less than thrilled to find that Mr. Zuckerberg had been named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year. The distinguished title goes to the man or woman deemed to have...

Last week, Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta became the first living service member from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to receive the Medal of Honor, the country's top military award. But like most of the brave men and women who serve, Giunta knows he wasn't out there fighting for medals or recognition, and he accepted the award with admirable humility and heartfelt acknowledgment of those who have died in battle. At the conclusion of the ceremony, Giunta got a hug, not a military salute, from President Obama. As a blog post on the website of Stars and Stripes, a military publication,...

In a White House ceremony last Tuesday, Army Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta was given the Medal of Honor. He was the first living Medal of Honor recipient since Vietnam. The event was televised, as it should have been, but hardly anyone noticed. Much of the world, including a disappointingly large portion of America, was consumed with other news: A prince had gotten engaged. The dashing Prince William, son of the Prince of Wales, announced his engagement on the same day Sal Giunta received the Medal of Honor for valor in Afghanistan. So much for Giunta's glory. Incidentally, two days later,...

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty: Specialist Salvatore A. Giunta distinguished himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty in action with an armed enemy in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan, on October 25, 2007. While conducting a patrol as team leader with Company B, 2d Battalion (Airborne), 503d Infantry Regiment, Specialist Giunta and his team were navigating through harsh terrain when they were ambushed by a well-armed and well-coordinated insurgent force. While under heavy enemy fire, Specialist...

Army Staff Sgt., Awarded Medal of Honor for Valor in Afghanistan, Says Comrades Going Beyond Call Every Day America's first living recipient of the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War says the heroic actions he undertook in Afghanistan are as brave as what every American soldier experiences day in and day out during their tours of duty in that country. Interview - Staff Sgt Salvatore Giunta

DES MOINES, Iowa – A 25-year-old soldier from Iowa who exposed himself to enemy gunfire to try to save two fellow soldiers will become the first living service member from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to receive the Medal of Honor, the White House announced Friday. President Barack Obama phoned Army Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta, on Thursday at the base in Italy where he's stationed to tell him he'd be receiving the nation's highest military honor, Giunta's father told The Associated Press. He will become the eighth service member to receive the Medal of Honor during operations in Iraq...