Committee Picks Giunta to Light Warrior Games Torch

From a U.S. Olympic Committee News Release

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., May 5, 2011 – Medal of Honor recipient Army Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta will light the torch to start this year’s Warrior Games at the U.S. Olympic Training Center here May 16, officials of U.S. Paralympics, a division of the U.S. Olympic Committee, announced today.

Deloitte, an international accounting and consulting firm, is sponsoring this year’s competition, which runs May 16-21 and will bring together more than 200 wounded, ill and injured service members from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force and special operations forces to compete in seven sports.

"I'm really excited that I was asked to do this,” Giunta said. “It's truly an honor for me to kick off such an amazing competition with so many amazing people. All of the competitors have faced adversity in some shape or form, and the fact that they have overcome it to not only compete at this event, but live full, quality lives, is awesome."

Giunta, who has served in the U.S. Army for almost eight years and is stationed at Fort Collins, Colo., became the first living recipient of the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War, the nation’s highest military decoration for valor. He saved the lives of members of his squad in Afghanistan on Oct. 25, 2007, exposing himself to enemy fire to pull a soldier back to cover when their platoon came under attack.

"It is a privilege to have Staff Sergeant Giunta as the torchbearer for the 2011 Warrior Games," said Scott Blackmun, CEO of the U.S. Olympic Committee. "He is a true hero who is a role model not only for those taking part in this competition, but for all people in the United States."

The Warrior Games are one component of the overall U.S. Olympic Committee’s Paralympic Military Program, which is focused on providing daily physical activity as an important part of rehabilitation at the community and installation levels. The program isn't about elite performance, officials said, but rather focuses on assisting service members with a physical disability to find enjoyment in activities that are instrumental in their rehabilitation.

In collaboration with the Defense Department, physical activity and sports participation rates at warrior transition units, wounded warrior battalions and detachments and other wounded warrior programs throughout the United States have increased by 23 percent in the past two years, U.S. Olympic Committee officials said.

President to Award Soldier Medal of Honor Nov. 16

By Terri Moon Cronk

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 19, 2010 – President Barack Obama will award the Medal of Honor to Army Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta in a Nov. 16 White House ceremony, officials announced yesterday.

The 25-year-old noncommissioned officer -- who will be the first living soldier since the Vietnam War to receive the nation’s top military honor -- learned of his selection in a Sept. 9 phone call from Obama.

Giunta was a 22-year-old rifle team leader serving in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley with the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team’s Company B, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, when insurgents attacked his squad the night of Oct. 25, 2007. When approaching insurgents formed an L-shaped ambush, splitting Giunta’s squad into two groups, Giunta braved enemy fire to pull a squad member back to cover.

He later saved another soldier while trying to connect with the other half of his squad. He saw two insurgents carrying off the second squad member and recovered him while shooting and killing one enemy fighter and wounding and driving off others.

Giunta administered medical aid to the wounded soldier while the remainder of his squad caught up with them and secured the area. Despite Giunta’s efforts, the soldier died the next day during surgery.

Giunta enlisted in the Army in November 2003 and has completed two combat tours of Afghanistan, totaling 27 months. His wife, Jennifer, and his parents, Steven and Rosemary Giunta, will join him at the ceremony.

Soldier Selected for Medal of Honor to Address Media Live from Italy

Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, will address the media live via satellite from Vicenza, Italy, at 12:30 p.m. EDT, Sept. 15, in the Pentagon Briefing Room (2E973).  On Sept. 10 the White House announced Giunta will receive the Medal of Honor and further details on the presentation ceremony will be released at a later date.

Journalists without a Pentagon building pass will be picked up at the River Entrance only.  Plan to arrive no later than 45 minutes prior to the event; have proof of affiliation and two forms of photo identification.  Please call 703-697-5131 for escort into the building.