Meet Sal Giunta, the first living Medal of Honor winner since Vietnam

[OntarioVanMan]

Giunta and his unit were ambushed on a plateau some 8,000 feet up in the mountains on the last day of a six-day offensive to try to take control of the area. Cold and exhausted, they'd slept in ditches the five previous nights. Here's how the White House describes what happened next:


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.

Meet Sal Giunta, the first living Medal of Honor winner since Vietnam - Yahoo! News

 

[greg334]

It makes you wonder, why hasn't there been more. Many many men and women have done a lot to deserve recognition and this does not take from his valor in the line of duty.

It is rather sad that he had to receive it from Obama though.

 

[witness23]

It is rather sad that he had to receive it from Obama though.

Why is that?

 

[greg334]

Did you hear the presentation?

I think that even Nancy would have done a better job with some more enthusiasm than did Obama.

I just read an interesting post on another forum about how we have not yet given the medal out to those who have killed but those who have been more or less passive. Not taking a thing away from this recipient but it begs the question are we not concerned about the destruction of an enemy any more?

 

[witness23]

Did you hear the presentation?

I watched it, yes.

I think that even Nancy would have done a better job with some more enthusiasm than did Obama.

Not sure if enthusiasm would be the correct emotion to display during the presentation of the Medal of Honor?

Excerpt from Stars and Stripes:

“We waited for First Platoon for hours,” Hijar told me about that night, “and once we linked up with them it was still two and a half hours’ walk back to the KOP. You could just tell on the guys’ faces, it wasn’t the right time to ask. You already knew what the answer was going to be. Some of them were walking around with bullet holes in their helmets.”

Brennan doesn’t survive surgery. Mendoza is dead before he even leaves the ridge. Five more men are wounded. Then there’s Rougle from the day before, as well as Rice and Vandenberge. It’s been a costly week. It’s been the kind of week that makes people back home think that maybe we’re losing the war.

Here is a link, I suggest you go there: 'War' excerpt about Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta

I just read an interesting post on another forum

A post, on a forum?

about how we have not yet given the medal out to those who have killed but those who have been more or less passive.

The Medal of Honor is not something that is given out just "willy-nilly", its only been awarded 10 times since Vietnam, 9 of them posthumously . There has been 4 given out for the Iraq war and 4 given out in Afghanistan, with Staff Sergeant Giunta being the only living recipient of the medal.

Not taking a thing away from this recipient but it begs the question are we not concerned about the destruction of an enemy any more?

By criticizing the lack of Medals being bestowed upon our service members or questioning why more haven't been presented for reasons you think are important, not to mention your comment, "its sad that he had to receive it from Obama", you are in fact, diminishing the highest honor a service member can receive.

 

[witness23]

Did you hear the presentation?

I think that even Nancy would have done a better job with some more enthusiasm than did Obama.

I'm still perplexed by your statement, if you haven't noticed. How should have the President conducted the ceremony in your opinion?

 

[greg334]

Well let's see....

First I thought the presentation did lack some enthusiasm, not based on the tone but the rhetoric of the speech. Obama didn't seem to be there for some reason in the words of the speech. Maybe it is me. I didn't expect the tone to be anything but respectful and it was.

Maybe you misunderstand. Willynilly is not what I am saying. There seems to be a point being made that we have shifted our outlook as a society to those who do not take initiative to inflict maximum damage to the enemy as heroic any more. His actions and those others who have been awarded the MoH have been justified but if you understand the reluctance of the last four presidents to move on awarding the MoH to others who have been nominated, and with the last four using the MoH as a political tool, it has lost some of the meaning behind it as a honor to all of those who fought and fight today.

Diminishing the highest honor a service member can receive through my comments is not even close, it is the opposite. I can question the actions of my government and those of the military to ask why isn't there anyone else. If you look back at history, we have awarded the MoH for a lot of things, even civilians have received it but if anything, by using it as a political tool with these last four presidents, they alone have made it less of an honor than it should ever be.

With that said, I ask why only 10?

We have been engaged in a war longer than Vietnam and it is not conventional was nor does it have an enemy who is easily identifiable in two areas of engagement. Why haven't we seen more action on the part of our government to bring out more of these who are heroic and worthy of recognition?

I think it has to do with one big fact that we as a society don't even know there is a war going on, we the people who are in charge of the military don't get that at all. This is my critisim of our society and government who looks upon killing as a bad thing during war time. We already have heard outrage about how we conduct war and we have tied the hands of the people who we expect to defend the country.

 

[witness23]

Well let's see....

First I thought the presentation did lack some enthusiasm, not based on the tone but the rhetoric of the speech. Obama didn't seem to be there for some reason in the words of the speech. Maybe it is me. I didn't expect the tone to be anything but respectful and it was.

I don't know, I think when he went, "off-script" he showed just how much he respects the military and the hero that he was about to honor by injecting his personal feelings into the ceremony.

In case you missed it:

"I'm going to go off script here and just say, 'I really like this guy," Obama said, calling him "a soldier as humble as he is heroic.

"When you meet Sal and you meet his family, you are just absolutely convinced that this is what America is all about, and it just makes you proud."

If you let your feelings of the President get in the way of this honor, I feel sorry for you. It is not about the President, it is about a service member that risked his life to save another brother and acted heroically. When I watched the ceremony, I must admit I got choked up (hell, I cry during the National Anthem) and focused on what was being sad, not how it was being said. Its too bad you were to busy analyzing the President and his rhetoric to fully appreciate the ceremony and what it is about.

With that said, I ask why only 10?

I don't know, ask the prior Presidents. Geez!

 

[Crazynuff]

Well let's see....

First I thought the presentation did lack some enthusiasm, not based on the tone but the rhetoric of the speech. Obama didn't seem to be there for some reason in the words of the speech. Maybe it is me. I didn't expect the tone to be anything but respectful and it was.

Maybe you misunderstand. Willynilly is not what I am saying. There seems to be a point being made that we have shifted our outlook as a society to those who do not take initiative to inflict maximum damage to the enemy as heroic any more. His actions and those others who have been awarded the MoH have been justified but if you understand the reluctance of the last four presidents to move on awarding the MoH to others who have been nominated, and with the last four using the MoH as a political tool, it has lost some of the meaning behind it as a honor to all of those who fought and fight today.

Diminishing the highest honor a service member can receive through my comments is not even close, it is the opposite. I can question the actions of my government and those of the military to ask why isn't there anyone else. If you look back at history, we have awarded the MoH for a lot of things, even civilians have received it but if anything, by using it as a political tool with these last four presidents, they alone have made it less of an honor than it should ever be.

With that said, I ask why only 10?

We have been engaged in a war longer than Vietnam and it is not conventional was nor does it have an enemy who is easily identifiable in two areas of engagement. Why haven't we seen more action on the part of our government to bring out more of these who are heroic and worthy of recognition?

I think it has to do with one big fact that we as a society don't even know there is a war going on, we the people who are in charge of the military don't get that at all. This is my critisim of our society and government who looks upon killing as a bad thing during war time. We already have heard outrage about how we conduct war and we have tied the hands of the people who we expect to defend the country.

There are other awards for heroism . I don't know the numbers but quite a few Bronze and Silver Stars awarded . U.S. Army Individual Decorations .
I would like to see you substantiate that civilians have been awarded a Medal Of Honor.
I doubt anyone agrees with your opinion the last 4 presidents awarded the medal as a "political tool "

 

[jjoerger]

Sal Giunta is a true American Hero and deserves this honor.

I had the pleasure of serving in Berlin with SSGT Jon R. Cavaiani, a living recipent of the Medal of Honor. After getting to know him I can understand why so few are awarded. The people who receive them are truly of a different breed.

From The Congressional Medal of Honor SocietyIt is not required to be a U.S. citizen, but you must be in the U.S. military in order to qualify for the Medal of Honor.

 

[greg334]

I would like to see you substantiate that civilians have been awarded a Medal Of Honor.

Oh let's see....

The two that stick out are Admiral Bryd and Lindberg, neither were in the service when they received their Medal. Floyd Bennett is another one who received his medal for his work with Bryd on the north-pole expedition. Bryd left the navy in 1927, some months before his flight north which got him nominated and Bennett left around the same time. Lindberg on the other hand was in the reserves which ended I think 8 or 9 years before his flight to France.

There are two others who had their medal rescinded when the revamped the award system. They were two out of six civilians who were awarded the medal and their medal was restored in the 70's. They were Bill Cody and Dr Mary Walker. Cody was part of a group of civilian scouts and Walker was a doctor during the civil war and the only female who ever received the award.

I doubt anyone agrees with your opinion the last 4 presidents awarded the medal as a "political tool "

I think I should have worded it a bit better. I didn't mean that the recipient would be used but the nomination process is not what it should be. The problem is the process is not in the way one would think, rather instead of using the information of the merit of the person, the nominee is vetted to the point to save the president any embarrassment. This was prevalent during the Bush administration where they were open about the practice but it was practiced from Bush I to Obama.

 

[witness23]

It is rather sad that he had to receive it from Obama though.

Going back to my original question from your comment above. Why is it sad to receive the Medal of Honor from President Obama.

 

[greg334]

Going back to my original question from your comment above. Why is it sad to receive the Medal of Honor from President Obama.

I don't hold much respect for the guy, but more importantly what the office has become. The guy holds the military in contempt and this event seemed to have a profound superficial affect on him at best, leaving him without the understanding or the desire to understand the sacrifices that everyone makes defending the country - in or out of uniform.

 

[witness23]

I don't hold much respect for the guy, but more importantly what the office has become.

Okay, you are welcome to have an opinion. You don't like the guy, or the office of the Presidency, fair enough.

The guy holds the military in contempt and this event seemed to have a profound superficial affect on him at best

What do you have to share with us that has made up your mind that this President has contempt over our military? Not to mention this particular Medal of Honor ceremony (besides your opinion of the lack of enthusiasm)?

leaving him without the understanding or the desire to understand the sacrifices that everyone makes defending the country - in or out of uniform.

Again, care to share your thoughts on why the President has no understanding or the desire to know the sacrifices our men and women are going through?

 

[greg334]

Okay, you are welcome to have an opinion. You don't like the guy, or the office of the Presidency, fair enough.

Well I didn't say Don't Like, I said -

I don't hold much respect for the guy,

AND I didn't say I don't like the office but this -

but more importantly what the office has become.

If you want to know more, learn what the office was before it became a popularity contest.

What do you have to share with us that has made up your mind that this President has contempt over our military?

Well I don't know, maybe it is the fact that defense starts at home and we have borders open. Maybe it is the fact that he has taken his time in decision making on requests for resources during war time. Maybe it is the talk within his party which he leads about the military and cutting defense spending.

Not to mention this particular Medal of Honor ceremony (besides your opinion of the lack of enthusiasm)?

OK won't mention it.

Again, care to share your thoughts on why the President has no understanding or the desire to know the sacrifices our men and women are going through?

Because of his background, his exposure to the military culture, and because of the people who he surrounded himself with.

Why would you think he had any understanding?

Just because he was elected to the position of CC, it does not mean that he is equipped to understand any sacrifices made.

 

[skyraider]

Im still not sure Barry is a US citizen yet,HMM

 

[witness23]

Well I didn't say Don't Like, I said -

I don't hold much respect for the guy,

AND I didn't say I don't like the office but this -

but more importantly what the office has become.

So.....you don't like the guy or what the office has become.

If you want to know more, learn what the office was before it became a popularity contest.

So....the President shouldn't hold the office because of, what WE the people have made it into? Or.......that the President made the election process a popularity contest? There's a difference between me and you Greg, I respect the office of the Presidency, no matter who is occupying it. You know why? Because we have elections, guess what, in four years you can attempt to vote that person out.

Well I don't know, maybe it is the fact that defense starts at home and we have borders open.

Turn off your cable news and stop reading the internet blogs. I'm sure you are in these areas that are of concern, right? If you're so concerned, why don't you talk to some people in those areas of concern and see how bad it actually is, instead of listening to politicians who are attempting to make it political.

Maybe it is the fact that he has taken his time in decision making on requests for resources during war time.

Since he's taken office? Care to share that information with us?

Maybe it is the talk within his party which he leads about the military and cutting defense spending.

You don't think there shouldn't be any cuts to military? You don't think its something that should be on the table with a number of other things?

Because of his background, his exposure to the military culture.

You seem to be an expert on this issue. My I ask, what is your background and exposure with military culture?

Why would you think he had any understanding?

I am not the one questioning the Presidents understanding
of the military.

Just because he was elected to the position of CC, it does not mean that he is equipped to understand any sacrifices made.

Maybe, maybe not.

 

[chefdennis]

Specialist Giunta and his wife was just on the right wing enemies show....Kilmeade & Friends.....very good interview

 

[greg334]

I don't know if you are bored or just nitpicking but here is the thing, the subject at hand is the MoH winner, not what Obama has or has not done. I know I brought it up, he didn't seem to wanting to be there and that's my opinion.

To me and many others, he has something missing in his persona that indicates he does not respect two important facts, the country is not about him and the country needs to be defended regardless what his personal feelings are. The indication to prove the latter is simply because he has yet moved to close off the border to a country where there is a civil war going on.

If we, as citizens have to respect our government offices, it starts with those who directly represent us, not the executive office. Obama, like almost every president after Teddy Roosevelt has used the office beyond what it was intended to be or should ever be, taking it to the level near a cult of personality and we as citizens have lost sight the president is not the most important nor most powerful person in our government. What has evolved is that the person holding the office is more important than the office itself and in some cases the country and the powers have overstretched to the point that the person is making laws by stepping over that clear line of separation. Obama has amplified this since he has entered office.

We have forgotten that we are sovereign citizens, not subjects and we have the obligation to question what the leader of the executive branch does in his everyday life as an office holder and sole representative of the country to the world. He is not to be respected until it is earned, winning an election is not earning that respect. This also means that we can hold him and others in contempt because of their actions - they work for us, we do not bow to them or the offices they hold.

My conclusions are not based on watching any news program but understanding the background of the man. I see he has followed the path of others who have held the military in contempt and more so understand that the people who surround him at those same who feel that the military is a tool to be used to accomplish their agenda, nothing more. If you can not understand that, then I suggest you start reading the same stuff he grew up with, starting with Marx, Webber and Smith.

 

[witness23]

I don't know if you are bored or just nitpicking.

Not bored, pretty much disgusted, but not bored.

but here is the thing, the subject at hand is the MoH winner.

Exactly, and you made it into the President and not the brave soldier that just received the Medal of Honor.

To me and many others, he has something missing in his persona that indicates he does not respect two important facts, the country is not about him and the country needs to be defended regardless what his personal feelings are. The indication to prove the latter is simply because he has yet moved to close off the border to a country where there is a civil war going on.

If we, as citizens have to respect our government offices, it starts with those who directly represent us, not the executive office. Obama, like almost every president after Teddy Roosevelt has used the office beyond what it was intended to be or should ever be, taking it to the level near a cult of personality and we as citizens have lost sight the president is not the most important nor most powerful person in our government. What has evolved is that the person holding the office is more important than the office itself and in some cases the country and the powers have overstretched to the point that the person is making laws by stepping over that clear line of separation. Obama has amplified this since he has entered office.

We have forgotten that we are sovereign citizens, not subjects and we have the obligation to question what the leader of the executive branch does in his everyday life as an office holder and sole representative of the country to the world. He is not to be respected until it is earned, winning an election is not earning that respect. This also means that we can hold him and others in contempt because of their actions - they work for us, we do not bow to them or the offices they hold.

My conclusions are not based on watching any news program but understanding the background of the man. I see he has followed the path of others who have held the military in contempt and more so understand that the people who surround him at those same who feel that the military is a tool to be used to accomplish their agenda, nothing more. If you can not understand that, then I suggest you start reading the same stuff he grew up with, starting with Marx, Webber and Smith.

Your ongoing statements, such as above, proves my point. Bringing in a political factor about a ceremony that is not about the President is disgusting in my opinion. The ceremony was about a soldier receiving the highest honor the Military can issue someone.

My Lord, if the President had shown the enthusiasm
you so desparetly wanted him to, then you and others would be on here *itchin' that the President disrespected the soldier by making it abou him.

You didn't answer my question about your background and exposure to the Military culture either.