Salvatore Giunta, Medal of Honor Recipient

Some says he's no hero, but we respectfully beg to differ.

Editorial - November 17th, 2010 - New York Daily News

Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta did not want the Medal of Honor.

He did not want to be in the White House yesterday, standing straight as President Obama clasped the bright blue ribbon around his neck.

He did not want his family there, or the families of his fallen brothers-in-arms, or the soldiers of Company B, 2nd Battalion (Airborne), who fought valiantly with him in Afghanistan.

But there they were, each and every one deserving the ovations they received, and there was Giunta, a 25-year-old Iowan, reluctant recipient of America's highest commemoration of valor, the first living recipient since 1976, the eighth of the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts.

Measured by the courage and selflessness he showed under fire, he's a hell of a soldier. Measured by the humility with which he has accepted this pinnacle of accolades, he's a hell of man, too.

From one old Marine to a true hero, "Hoo Rah!"