Wanted to share this photo and one persons feelings as quoted below:
My question about where do we get such men was from a movie, Bridges at Toko Ri, I think.
I know where they come from. As an Iowan I’m also very proud of SSGT Giunta. I know where they come from. The only National Cemetery in the State of Iowa is in a small town in SE Iowa by the name of Keokuk. There are 3 generations of my family buried there. WWI for my grandfather, WWII for my uncle, and my dad, Korea. Several friends of my dad and uncle are also buried there. They are all around us. They are in every small town across the country, hiding in plain sight.
I recently attended the 90th birthday celebration for a friend of my dad’s. He’s a great old guy, has some great stories. However if you just saw him walking through the Wal-Mart, you’d never know that he was captured during the Battle of the Bulge using an M-1 Garand trying to stop the advance of German tanks, while covering his buddies pulling back. Remember this the next time you want to swear at some little old man or old lady who’s driving too slow. They might have might have piloted a B-17 in the first raid on Berlin, been a guerilla fighting in the hills waiting for Gen MacArther to return to the Philippines, or a Rosie the Riviter working to build tanks in the old John Deere plant here at home. My dad worked on the railroad, then collected toll on a toll bridge. He was wounded at Chosin in Korea when the Chinese crossed the Yalu.
I know where they come from. They’re right here. And they always seem to step up when we need them. I Thank God for each and every one of them.
While all the time remembering how the troops were treated when they returned home from Vietnam, SSGT Giunta makes me proud to have worn the same uniform. As is typical of Medal of Honor recipients, he said “This award isn’t for me. It’s for all the men in my platoon.” America has a hero when we need one the most. Thank you Staff Sergeant.
Thanks for posting Steve
Every time I hear of an over payed ball player called a hero, I cringe. I think every school kid ought to be given a book of Medal of Honor winners stories. Then they would know what a true hero is. Thanks for posting.
In the name of balancing the National Debt, there is talk on Capital Hill in Washington D.C. of lowering Veteran’s Medical Coverage, for those who have worn the uniform, and gone in harms way.
As a retired U.S. Army Platoon Sergeant, I find that our Nations Leaders are talking out of both sides of their mouths at the same time. Honoring some for deeds done in the name of the U.S. Constitution, and at the same time to tell those who have done service for their country, that so sorry but we cannot afford to treat you for medical conditions suffered in combat.
Next War, give the members of Congress and the Senate, uniforms and rifles and have them go face-off those who want to destroy our nation. At least the members of the Congress and Senate have full government medical coverage! ~ Platoon Sergeant Steven H. McGarthwaite, Retired, 1968-1995
It is the young man receiving the award that is important not the expression of the man behind him. Why diminish the occasion with personal interpretations?