Plz to embed:

<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/16662374" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/16662374">The Sal Giunta Story</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user5180064">SebastianJunger/TimHetherington</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

11/19/2010 6:33:39 AM

When I read his story, I thought that kind of thing happened all the time over there in battle. Seems like they'd give this award out more often if that is what you have to do to get one.

11/19/2010 7:17:51 AM

Quote :

"When I read his story, I thought that kind of thing happened all the time over there in battle. Seems like they'd give this award out more often if that is what you have to do to get one."

No.

For one, they were in Korengal, which is one of the worst fucking places in that whole country. No huge base to operate out of that's well protected and out of enemy range, no amenities, etc. We get hit frequently with indirect attacks (bombs, mortars, etc), but an ambush as well-executed as this one doesn't come often.

While there are certainly a lot of acts of valor that are deserving of recognition (this is evinced by Guinta's own comments about simply doing what needed to be done), what he did was fucking extraordinary.

To risk his own life to go into the unknown darkness where the enemy had been set up with the only thought being needing to save his squadmate who was being carried off is to do something nearly unimaginable. And that's ignoring the other things he did.

In short, this guy is humble as hell and is an example for everyone, whether you're in the service or not. My favorite quote of his is his response to the question from 60 Minutes about what kind of soldier he is:

"I'm average...I'm mediocre...this is only one moment...I don't think I did anything that anyone that was with me wouldn't have done. I was in the position to do it. It needed to be done, so I did it."


If you haven't watched the interview with him, do it. Now. It's among the most gripping 14 minutes of video you'll ever watch.

11/19/2010 8:09:31 AM

I'm not saying he doesn't deserve the medal. He does. I'm say that there are probably more soldiers out there that deserve it also. Why are they so stingy with this medal? How are there no other living recipients?

11/19/2010 8:16:17 AM

A lot of other people brought up that point and it is completely valid. The fact is, it was a policy of the Bush administration. Rumsfeld as SECDEF wanted to downplay the violence of the GWOT and suppressed high level medals.

Hell, there was a nearly 3 year fight just to get seperate campaign medals for Iraq and Afghanistan.

11/19/2010 8:34:45 AM

The Sal Giunta Story from SebastianJunger/TimHetherington on Vimeo.

11/19/2010 9:22:01 AM

Thanks Kelly

11/19/2010 9:29:53 AM

Quote :

"The fact is, it was a policy of the Bush administration. Rumsfeld as SECDEF wanted to downplay the violence of the GWOT and suppressed high level medals."

Oh lawd.

The number of awards of the MOA have steadily gone down from World War II to its current level of roughly 1 award for every 1,000,000 service members. There is certainly a case to be made for more MOAs to be given, but the fact remains that it's an incredibly high hurdle to get an act considered for one.

The criteria for the award itself is difficult enough to achieve:

Quote :

"The Medal of Honor is awarded by the President, in the name of Congress, to a person who, while a member of the Army, distinguishes himself or herself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in action against an enemy of the United States; while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or while serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party. The deed performed must have been one of personal bravery or self-sacrifice so conspicuous as to clearly distinguish the individual above his or her comrades and must have involved risk of life. Incontestable proof of the performance of the service will be exacted and each recommendation for the award of this decoration will be considered on the standard of extraordinary merit."

While there are service members who execute extremely brave acts each day in either combat zone, the award itself is jealously guarded, and those who approve it (many of whom have never served a day in uniform) may have gradually put it on an even higher pedestal, which has helped contribute to the decline in its awarding.

In short, I think the talk of the conspiracy theory stuff is utter bullshit, go beat off to Mel Gibson's movie for a little while and take those ideas with you.

With all the news coming out about the violence of the war from literally every other source, there's no way that withholding a few MOAs from soldiers would in any way help the "cause" of downplaying the violence of the wars.

It's undeniable that the awarding of the medal has gone way, way down, and I think that needs to be changed, but there are legitimate, empirical reasons for the change that go beyond the knee jerk explanation of "Bush is the worst war criminal in U.S. history, and he and his cronies deliberately and systematically withheld the award to keep their mess in check."

As an example, one explanation (mentioned in the audio story linked below) is that technological advances have produced a fundamental change in the battlefield, which has lessened the number of acts that even come close to the threshold necessary for a MOA. It may be utter bullshit, given events like the Battle of Fallujah, but at the same time, the combat of these wars is different in substantial ways from that seen in WWII and Vietnam, so it's an interesting point.

http://www.thetakeaway.org/2010/oct/05/medal-honor-rarely-given-iraq-afghanistan-wars/

11/19/2010 9:36:04 AM

Were any of these medals given out during Vietnam?

11/19/2010 9:48:44 AM

http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/vietnam-a-l.html

http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/vietnam-m-z.html

11/19/2010 9:51:18 AM

Quote :

"Were any of these medals given out during Vietnam?"

Quote :

"During the Vietnam War, 246 Medals of Honor were received, 154 of them posthumously. Soldiers of the Army received the most with 160, followed by 57 to the Marines, 16 to the Navy and the remaining 13 to the Air Force."

11/19/2010 9:51:45 AM

Didn't Forrest Gump win this medal too?

11/19/2010 9:54:17 AM

I guess my number was off then...247* MOHs given.

11/19/2010 9:55:03 AM

I shouldn't have brought politics into this thread, which was meant to be about one man. I'll move my points to TSB.

[Edited on November 19, 2010 at 12:04 PM. Reason : message_topic.aspx?topic=504034&page=10#14410660]

11/19/2010 11:50:01 AM

Just playing devil's advocate, the Vietnam War had much more servicemen in country and resulted in 58,000+ KIA.

nevermind, read your article in TSB

11/19/2010 12:04:12 PM