Medal of Honor recipient Giunta, a Hiawatha native, gives his medal to honor airborne brigade

'I am not here because I am a great soldier. I am here because I served with great soldiers”

These were the words that Medal of Honor recipient Salvatore Giunta gave before he presented his medal last week to the 173rd Airborne Brigade at the dedication ceremony for the Medal of Honor Walkway at the brigade's headquarters in Vicenza, Italy. Giunta told the stunned crowd that he wanted the medal to be with the members of the 173rd, to honor those 'that earn this every single day through their selflessness and sacrifice.”

Although Giunta's appearance at the ceremony, the gesture was a surprise to the brigade's leadership, according this account by CNN.

'The first thing that came to mind is like, ‘Are you sure you want to do that?' And he said ‘yes,'” Sgt. Major Frank Velez told CNN. 'There was a few gasps in the crowd and it was folks just going wild. ‘That is incredible. This just really happened.'”

Giunta, a Hiawatha native who graduated from Cedar Rapids Kennedy high school, in 2010 was the first living American service member to receive the distinction for service in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and was also the first living recipient of the honor since the Vietnam War. He told reporters at the time that he was conflicted about being singled out among the men in his unit for the honor.

'We were all there together, fighting for our lives and each other. I didn't do anything that the others would not have done,” Giunta said repeatedly President Barack Obama announced the honor on Sept. 10 of that year.