Scripps Howard Foundation Wire

WASHINGTON

— President Barack Obama had the rare opportunity to present the Medal of Honor to a living service member Tuesday, the first time since the Vietnam war.

    The country’s highest award for military valor was awarded to Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta, 25, who rescued a fellow soldier and provided cover to other members of his unit when they were ambushed in Afghanistan in 2007.

    Giunta was accompanied by his wife, Jennifer, and his parents, Steven and Rosemary Giunta. They joined Obama and first lady Michelle Obama in the East Room of the White House.

    “I’m going to go off-script for a second and just say I really like this guy,” Obama said, looking over at Giunta’s reserved smile.

    Eight Medals of Honor have been awarded during the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan – five to members of the Army, two to members of the Navy and one to a Marine.

    “It is my privilege to present our nation’s highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, to a soldier as humble as he is heroic,” Obama said.

    “As I found out myself when I first spoke with him on the phone and when we met in the Oval Office today,” Obama said, “he is a low-key guy, a humble guy, and he doesn’t seek the limelight. And he’ll tell you that he didn’t do anything special.”

    Guinta received a phone call from the president Sept. 9 informing him of his award. In interviews since, Giunta denied being anything but average.

    “It means the world to me to have the great men an women of the United States military behind me, supporting me,” Giunta said after the ceremony. “Although this is so positive, I would give it all back in a second to have my friends back.”

    While on patrol the night of Oct. 25, 2007, Giunta’s team was ambushed by a well-armed and coordinated group of insurgents.

    Giunta, then 22, held the rank of specialist and served as rifle team leader on his second deployment to Afghanistan with Company B, 2nd Airborne Battalion in the 503rd Infantry Regiment.

    He and the other soldiers were providing support to another platoon while that platoon built relations with a local village. As Giunta’s platoon began marching back to base in the Korengal Valley of eastern Afghanistan, they were met by an insurgent group so close that the Apache helicopters flying overhead could not shoot at the insurgents without risking the soldiers’ lives.

    The soldiers in the lead were immediately hit by enemy fire. Giunta pushed forward through smoke and machinegun fire, pulling one of the wounded soldiers to cover.

    He was struck twice – one bullet hit his flak jacket and another hit a weapon strapped to his back.

    Giunta continued moving toward the attackers, using hand grenades to create cover and suppress enemy fire. In the muddle of the skirmish, he searched for his friend, Sgt. Josh Brennan.

    Giunta found two insurgents carrying the wounded Brennan away as a prisoner. Giunta killed one of the insurgents and wounded the other.

    The rest of his squad moved up while he provided medical aid to Brennan until he could be carried out by helicopter.

    “By the time it was finished,” Obama said, “every member of First Platoon had shrapnel or a bullet hole in their gear. Five were wounded. And two gave their lives: Sal’s friend, Sgt. Joshua C. Brennan, and the platoon medic, Spc. Hugo V. Mendoza.”

    To Mendoza and Brennan’s parents, who were in the audience, Obama said, “On behalf of a grateful nation, let me express profound thanks to your sons’ service and their sacrifice.”

    Giunta was born in Iowa and attended John F. Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids. He was sweeping floors in a Subway restaurant when he heard a radio commercial about the U.S. Army. He enlisted in November 2003 at 18.