As the war in Afghanistan rages on, more people die, and as more heroes are exposed, many die. My hero is Salvatore Giunta, a former Staff Sergeant in the US Army. He was bestowed the prestigious and honorable Medal of Honor on November 16,2010. The former soldier was born on January 21, 1985 and is currently 27 years old. He was born in Clinton, Iowa with a line of Italian family members. He grew up in Cedar Rapids where he graduated from John F. Kennedy High School. In October 25, 2002, Salvatore and his team finished an overwatch of the valley. As they walked back, they were ambushed by Taliban forces. Three men were immediately hit and wounded. Giunta charged into the wall of bullets and sprinted towards the squad leader, Erick Gollardo, and helped him find cover. The Staff Sergeant quickly ordered his men to use grenades to disrupt the attack. After seeing the Taliban retreat, Giunta sprinted forward to find Brennan. He was being dragged away by two Afghans and Giunta quickly shot the first one, and the second one fled. I admire him because in the face of adversity, he gallantly fought against an outnumbered enemy. Not only did he try and save many of his men and risking his life at the same time, but he also caused them to retreat. I admire his valiance and audaciousness because if I was in such a ferocious firefight, I would have taken cover for almost the whole time instead of returning fire and running against the enemy and facing a gigantic barrier of bullets would be out of the question.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/11/salvatore-giunta-medal-of-honor.html
http://abcnews.go.com/News/25-year-iowan-recieve-living-medal-honor-valor/story?id=12160138
http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/giunta/profile.html
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2010/0916/Medal-of-Honor-recipient-Salvatore-Giunta-tells-his-story
http://www.voanews.com/content/obama-awards-medal-of-honor-to-afghanistan-war-hero-108509249/130670.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvatore_Giunta
http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/giunta/profile.html
