𝗔𝗥𝗠𝗬 𝗠𝗘𝗗𝗔𝗟𝗦 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪
Salvatore (”Sal”) Augustine Giunta was born in Iowa. He is the oldest of three children of Steven, a medical equipment technician, and Rosemary, a preschool teacher. Staff Sgt. Giunta was raised in Cedar Rapids and Hiawatha, Iowa. Childhood adventures were in many instances a forerunner of Staff Sgt. Giunta’s adult life and experiences in the Army. As a kindergartner, his mother taught him how to remove the screen from his ground-level bedroom window to escape an emergency, such as a fire. That night, he reportedly packed a suitcase, crawled out the window, and attempted to take advantage of his new-found freedom – but made it only as far as a neighbor’s because he did not know where to go. The open window escape route, coupled with a sense of adventure, willingness to tempt the unknown, and resultant wanderlust, may have inspired his attendance at the U.S. Army Airborne School and military service as a paratrooper.
In high school, the charismatic and outgoing Salvatore seems to have been, according to his parents, more interested in “socializing and goofing off” than in grades – and the open window frequently provided him with many opportunities to do so. Indeed, his parents have said his “energy” could be “challenging.” Examples of his good humor and frivolity include the time ”when he stole the mouse from his math teacher’s computer, or sneaked out to put a Kennedy High School shirt on an opposing team’s statue.” A neighbor later recalled that Salvatore’s “bravery” stood out when he was in high school.
Salvatore was a junior at Kennedy High School when hijacked commercial jets intentionally crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. His mother recalled that Salvatore immediately wanted to bring the family together and ensure their safety by picking up his brother from middle school and sister from elementary school, and she remembers telling him: “If the world falls part, I guess I can count on you.” It was probably this same overriding sense of family and concern for his rifle platoon brothers and his recognized bravery, that motivated his actions in Afghanistan on Oct. 25, 2007. In summing up his life prior to joining the Army in 2003, Salvatore said, “The first 18 years of my life were in Iowa. I’m an Iowan.” With characteristic humility, he added, “Every single person who has touched my life has made me who I am today…The only responsibility I claim for myself is if I screw up.”
While there were indications that Staff Sgt. Giunta had been recommended for the Medal of Honor and the nomination had a good chance of approval, it was not until Sept. 10, 2010 that the White House announced that Staff Sgt. Giunta would receive the Medal of Honor, the first awarded to a living recipient since the Vietnam War. On the previous day, Sept. 9, 2010, President Barack Obama telephoned Staff Sgt. Giunta to personally inform him that he would be awarded the Medal of Honor and to thank him for his gallant and selfless service. “President Obama said ‘thank you’ for what I did,” Staff Sgt. Giunta said in an interview after receiving the phone call from the President. “My heart was pounding in my chest, so much that my ears almost stopped hearing. I had my wife by my side. She was holding my hand. When she heard me say, ‘Mr. President,’ she squeezed me.”
Since being thrust into the national limelight on Sept. 10, 2010, Staff Sgt. Giunta has continuously reacted with characteristic modesty and humility. “This was a situation we were put into,” Staff Sgt. Giunta observed. “By no means did I do anything that everyone else wouldn’t have done. “It’s all kind of blurry,” he stated a few days after the Medal of Honor announcement, “There wasn’t a whole lot of thinking I needed to do. Looking at it like a picture, I’m just another brushstroke in the picture…I didn’t run up to do anything heroic. Everybody’s been shot at, and I might as well run forward,” Staff Sgt. Giunta said he thought at the time. In the wake of the Medal of Honor announcement, Staff Sgt. Giunta also candidly observed that Oct. 25, 2007, was “one of the worst days of my life, and when I revisit it, it kind of guts me a little bit more every time.” He also described his award of the Medal of Honor as “bittersweet”: “It’s a huge honor…but it does bring back memories of all the people I’d love to share this moment with who are no longer with us.” Indeed, Staff Sgt. Giunta’s mother recalls her son telling her that, “The medal [Medal of Honor] should go to the guy on the right of me and the guy on the left of me. We were all in the fight.”
Staff Sgt. Giunta has continued to demonstrate reluctance for being singled out for his remarkable heroism, observing, “This respect that people are giving to me? This was one moment. In my battalion, I am mediocre at best. This shows how great the rest of them are.” Humbly summing up the situation, Staff Sgt. Giunta stated, “If I’m a hero, then every man that stands around me, every woman in the military, everyone who goes into the unknown is a hero.” Staff Sgt. Giunta’s personification of the Warrior Ethos, his selfless leadership, and his “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above the beyond the call of duty” provide tremendous inspiration and exemplify the very best of the American Soldier today.
Staff Sgt. Giunta, who was promoted to his current rank in August 2009, has served in B (Battle) Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Airborne Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, V Corps, Vicenza, Italy, his entire time in the Army. He currently serves as the Rear Detachment Non-commissioned Officer-in-Charge (NCOIC) of Battle Company, responsible for the health, welfare, morale, training, and accountability of all assigned Sky Soldiers.
His awards and decorations (in addition to earning the Medal of Honor) include the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal (with one bronze oak leaf cluster), Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal (with one bronze service star), Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army NCO Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Army Overseas Service Ribbon, NATO Medal for ISAF (Afghanistan), Combat Infantryman Badge, Basic Parachutist Badge, Expert Marksmanship Badge with Rifle Bar, Italian Parachutist Badge, German Parachutist Badge, British Parachutist Badge.
THE BATTLE
On a blue-silhouetted cylinder with a white border, a vertical white wing is in flight. The lower end of the wing is extended and hooked around a red bayonet. Attached above the insignia is a blue tab with “AIRBORNE” inscribed in white. The bayonet is used to refer to the brigade. The wing alludes to the brigade’s airborne status. Red, white and blue are U.S. national colors.
On Oct. 25, 2007, Spc. Giunta’s platoon was conducting a movement to contact to interdict enemy forces on the Gatigal Spur, in order to provide over watch for 2nd and 3rd platoon’s exfil back to Combat Outpost Vimot and the Korengal Outpost. While conducting their exfil from the platoon’s blocking position, Spc. Giunta’s platoon was ambushed by 10 to 15 enemy personnel who utilized an “L” shaped, near ambush that was within 10 meters of the platoon’s main body. The enemy fired 10 Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs) and three PKMs (machine guns) from the apex of the ambush and additional AK-47s from throughout the ambush line.
The enemy initiated contact with an RPG and a burst of PKM (fire), which immediately hit and wounded two members of the lead team, Sgt. Brennan and Spc. Eckrode. Another RPG in the initial volley hit extremely close to Spc. Giunta’s position. While Staff Sgt. Gallardo moved back to his Bravo Team to get situation reports, Spc. Giunta provided covering fire by leading his team in suppressing enemy positions, assigning sectors of fire, and commanding his M-203 gunner to engage close targets. While advancing toward Spc. Giunta’s team, Staff Sgt. Gallardo was struck in the helmet by an AK-47 round, which caused him to fall to the ground. Despite being under heavy fire by PKM, RPG, and small arms, Spc. Giunta immediately left his covered position in order to render aid to his squad leader. As he moved to assist, Spc. Giunta was struck by two bullets; one of which impacted his chest area but was stopped by his Enhanced Small Arms Protective Insert (E-SAPI) plate, and one round which impacted the Shoulder-Launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon-D (SMAW-D) rocket he was carrying across his back. Without hesitation, Spc. Giunta recovered from the impacts and ensured his squad leader was not injured. He then began bounding his team forward in an attempt to maneuver on the enemy.
Spc. Giunta and his fire team were quickly pinned down by effective enemy machine gun and small arms fire from multiple positions at close range. Spc. Giunta, along with Pfc. Clary and Staff Sgt. Gallardo, quickly prepared fragmentation grenades and continued the assault by throwing two volleys of them at enemy positions that were approximately 15 meters to th