I can think of no more fitting story to be the top post here on Gun Nuts on 9/11 than the story of Salvatore Giunta. Wounded in enemy action in Afghanistan in 2007, then Specialist Giunta refused to quit fighting after being shot directly in the chest and saved by his armor. Instead, he got his war face on, killed a bunch of insurgents including a high value target, saved half his squad, and generally did stuff that if you saw it in the movies you’d say “come on, that would never happen in real life”.
It’s only fitting then that now Staff Sergeant Giunta will be the first living recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War. We have heroes still, it’s just too bad that the media doesn’t want to recognize them.
Caleb and readers,
I know there has been quite a bit of press about SSG Giunta but we also shouldn’t forget the heroic sacrifices of the other announced MOH recipient, SSG Robert Miller. He too was a true hero that put the lives of his team above his.
Both men are true heroes that should be honored. I find it sad that most Americans don’t care and can’t name a single current MOH recipient.
Thanks David, that’s a good point!
a few and still standing brave good man
One thing that strikes me as I talk to veterans is their refusal to think of their actions as heroic. They keep saying “I was just doing my job.”
But these guys volunteer to serve in the military. They sign up for not a lot of pay and worse conditions and fight and sometimes die for their country. They are an example to all of us of what ordinary Americans can do when they’re asked to stand up for what they believes in. It is an excellent calling and an excellent thing to do.
This is what makes me so angry when I hear people who sign up being called stupid or desperate. Americans are willing to fight, and not only for America’s freedom, but for the freedom of others. Americans have fought and died to protect the innocent all over the world. They fight for these things because they believe in them, and that is not stupidity or desperation, it’s heroic.
I’m sorry if this makes you-all in the military uncomfortable, but I think it should be said: we live in a better world because of your willingness to put your lives on the line for us. So, here’s to Salvatore Giunta and to all our men and women who serve.
God bless our military who fight for the freedom we enjoy each day!
Hooooo-rah!
Good point you raised in the post.
Good on ya Caleb, BUT don’t get the concluding statement. I don’t follow Faux news or CNN, but;
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129773055
Posted on 9/11 no less. (I realize most fellow shooters consider NPR “hippy radio” but all of us in my section like it as they’re one of the few media outlets that acknowledge that we in the .mil are still at war)
Hate to nitpick, but, as someone else was sure to point out, theres no Congressional in the MOH.