Battleland

At Last, A Living Hero…

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On Thursday, the White House announced the seventh Medal of Honor to be awarded to troops killed in either Afghanistan or Iraq. No living soldier, sailor, airman or Marine had earned the medal since Vietnam, something that has raised question about the military’s MOH-vetting process among veterans, the military and Congress. But the same day, President Obama called a young soldier to tell him he would be the first living recipient of the award since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq got underway.

Army Spec. Salvatore Giunta/Gazette Communications

On Friday, the White House announced it would award Army Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta the nation’s highest combat decoration for his actions in Afghanistan in 2007. Eighty-eight of the medal’s 3,448 recipients are living. The Washington Post has a good story on his exploits.