US Army SSG Salvatore Giunta - Medal of Honor Recipient during Operation Enduring Freedom

Welcome back everyone.  In this episode of Duty & Valor, you’ll hear the story of a man who would lead his unit against an ambush by heavily armed enemy combatants.  A man who would disregard his own safety and assist wounded fellow soldiers.  A man who chased down enemy fighters to save a fellow soldier being carried away from the firefight.  This is the story of Medal of Honor Recipient US Army SSG Salvatore Giunta.    

Early Life

Salvatore, who goes by Sal, was born on January 21st, 1985 in Clinton, Iowa to parents Steven and Rosemary Giunta.  He had two younger siblings named Mario and Katie.  Following his graduation from JFK High School in Cedar Rapids he enlisted in the US Army in November 2003.  He completed his basic military training, as well as infantry and the Basic Airborne Course at Fort Benning in Georgia.

Army Career

After completing training, Giunta was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, of the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vicenza Italy.  In support of Operation Enduring Freedom, he was sent on his first combat deployment to Afghanistan from March of 2005 to March of 2006.  During this year-long deployment, he was shot in the leg and awarded a Purple Heart.        

Giunta, now an Army Specialist, and his unit were sent back to Afghanistan in May of 2007.  There they were stationed at Firebase Vegas in the Korengal Valley of the Hindu Kush Mountains in the northeast near the Pakistan border.  This 10-mile long valley was notoriously dangerous, so much so that American troops referred to it as the Valley of Death, as this area was a hotbed for Taliban and insurgent activities.  

On October 25th, twenty two year old Giunta was serving as a rifle team leader for platoon 1, where they would embark on a mission called Operation Rock Avalanche.  The eight man squad of platoon 1 were tasked with providing cover support and to intercept hostile forces along a ridge overlooking a local village, where two platoons, the 2nd and 3rd, were conducting operations. 

Following days long operation, the men of Platoon 1 were making their way back to their outpost with Sgt. Josh Brennan as the lead man with each man following behind,  approximately 15 feet from each other.  As the night was well lit by moonlight, the men did not use their night vision equipment, and unbeknownst to them, they were walking into an ambush.  

Shortly after leaving their position, they were engaged by Taliban insurgents who had set up firing positions in what is called an L-shaped ambush.  This formation allowed the Americans to proceed far enough into their fire lines before they were engaged from one side of the formation.  The goal was to occupy the Amerians attention and firepower before engaging them with the second line, thus causing confusion and pinning them in place.

As the Americans moved down the ridge and into the sites of their weapons, the Taliban fighters began firing on them with AK-47’s, RPG’s and machine guns.  The first American who was struck was Sgt. Brennan.  In total he was hit eight times and he fell wounded.  Also hit were Specialist Frank Eckrode who was also shot four times and Spc. Hugo Mendoza, the squad's combat medic.  Specialist Erick Gallardo attempted to move forward to aid the wounded men, but was stopped by heavy RPG fire.  He then retreated back to Giunta’s position while simultaneously firing back at the enemy.  While doing so, an AK-47 round struck, and pierced, Gallardo’s helmet.  Luckily the round only grazed his scalp and he was otherwise uninjured.  Seeing his fellow squad member getting hit, Giunta raced toward Gallardo and was surprised to see he was not seriously injured.  And while checking on him, the front of Giunta’s body armor took a direct hit from an AK-47 round.  A shot that would have most likely been fatal if not for it hitting his protective gear.  Moments later a second round hit the rocket launcher which was slung across his back, again protecting Giunta from being badly wounded.     

Spc.Giunta gave the orders for two men to drop back and protect them from any flanking maneuvers, while the others lobbed fragmentation grenades at the enemy, which gave the men the ability to advance towards Spc. Eckrode.  There Spc.Gallardo would dress his wounds and coordinate a medevac for the wounded team member.

Seeing that Eckrode was receiving treatment, Spc. Giunta advanced toward the position where Sgt. Brennan had fallen.  When he made it there, he was shocked to not find him where he was sure he had fallen.  He continued advancing forward over a ridge where, in the fading light, he saw Sgt. Brennan being dragged away by two Taliban fighters.  Giunta raced toward the men while firing his M4 rifle.  He was able to kill one of them and he injured the second, who was able to run away.  

Giunta was able to pull him back to their squads position where the seriously injured Brennan would receive his initial medical care.  By this time, the 2nd and 3rd platoons had arrived and helped end the ambush.  The injured men were cared for and all were evacuated.  In total the ambush only lasted about three minutes, but the Taliban were still able to inflict losses against the Americans.  Unfortunately, Sgt. Joshua Brennan passed away the next day while undergoing surgery for his wounds. In addition, Spc. Hugo Mendoza, who was hit as the fighting started, died on the battlefield.

Spc. Giunta’s fellow soldiers were in disbelief at the valor that he displayed in the ambush.  Gallardo was quoted as saying that what he did was “crazy and that he stopped the fight.  [He] stopped them from taking a soldier”.  Two days later, the Company Commander, Captain Dan Kearney informed Spc. Giunta that he was going to recommend him for the Medal of Honor.

It did take almost three years for the recommendation to make its way through Army command and to the White House before Giunta was told that he would receive the nation’s highest honor. 

On Sept. 10, 2010, Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta, at a ceremony witnessed by his family and all of his surviving unit members, was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Obama.  Sgt. Giunta was the first living Medal of Honor recipient since the Vietnam War. 

In many interviews in the years following the Medal of Honor ceremony, Sgt. Giunta’s humbleness was always on display when asked about the award and his actions from that day.  He was always quick to say that what he did wasn’t special and that he did the same thing any other soldier would do.  He credited his actions on the training he received and the desire to protect the men around him.  

Exemplifying the ethos of serving with pride and living with humility, he never embraced the attention he received.  When he said that the award was for everyone, not just him, it wasn’t just empty words.  On July 6, 2017, Sgt. Giunta gave his Medal of Honor to the 173rd Brigade Commander, as he felt it belonged to the brigade.

If you want to learn more about his story, Sgt. Giunta wrote a memoir titled Living with Honor where he recounts the events that saw him being awarded the Medal of Honor.

Thank you for listening, and if you enjoyed this week's show, we kindly ask that you follow us and leave a review and 5 star rating.  A link to Sgt. Giunta’s book and sources for today's show can be found in the show notes.  And join us next week where we’ll tell you the story of another true American hero.