By Jonathan Battaglia
Edited by M. Caroline Riser
Salvatore Giunta, a 2010 Medal of Honor recipient for his service in Afghanistan, told over 800 Army basic training graduates they are "the best in America" at Fort Jackson Thursday morning.
"As Americans we were born with freedoms that are just given to us. These things are given not because of anything we've done, but because you were born an American," Giunta said. "And now, today, you will pick up the torch. You will give these freedoms to someone else."
Giunta, a former Army staff sergeant, was the first living service member since the Vietnam War to receive the country's highest military award. It was the first military graduation he attended since his own in 2003 at Georgia's Fort Benning.
"Yesterday, you were the future of the United States Army," Giunta told the graduates and thousands of family and friends. "Today, you are the United States Army."
Giunta, who was deployed to Afghanistan twice, was honored by President Barack Obama in a 2010 White House ceremony. He chose not to re-enlist and is now a student at Colorado State University.
After his squad leader was injured during a Taliban attack in October 2007, Giunta tried to help while under heavy fire. Then, after stopping two insurgents from carrying away a wounded soldier by killing one, and wounding the other, he gave medical attention to the wounded American.
Salvador Rosada, a basic training graduate from Puerto Rico, said he didn't know Giunta was coming to speak until Thursday.
"It was inspiring," Rosada said. "It makes you realize the importance of what we're doing."
Four other Medal of Honor recipients joined Giunta at the graduation ceremony at Hilton Field. Lt. Col. Bruce Crandall, Col. Walter Marm, Sgt. Robert Patterson and Lt. Col. Alfred Rascon all received the honor for their service in Vietnam. They, along with Giunta, also held a roundtable discussion from 2 to 4 p.m. Thursday at Fort Jackson's Post Theater.
