Giunta arrives home to Hiawatha

Folks turned out by the thousands last evening to cheer, salute, photograph and holler the occasional hooah to hometown hero Salvatore Giunta, the nation's most recent Medal of Honor recipient.

Army Staff Sgt. Giunta, riding with his wife Jen atop Hiawatha Fire & Rescue Truck 1, returned the salutes and waves and smiled nonstop for the thousands of camera flashes that sparkled along the 20-block parade route.

“He deserves every honor we can give him. It's hard to put into words. He's a true hero,” said Gary Bonesteel, who came from Shellsburg to wish Giunta well.

“It's a great opportunity to honor not only (Giunta), but all our service members,” said Vicki Keegan of Cedar Rapids, who stood in front of a pickup truck full of children holding flags and red, white and blue hand drawn signs.

On meeting Giunta, Lorena Madden of Cedar Rapids said, “It was such an overwhelming experience to be able to express my gratitude to him directly for his service to our country.”

Giunta, who received the nation's top military honor a week earlier at the White House, said the hometown welcome was special.

“We've been thanked, congratulated and welcomed a lot, but this is part of what formed so much of me,” Giunta said during a news conference preceding the parade at American Legion Post 735 in Hiawatha.

Hiawatha Mayor Tom Thies presented Giunta with a key to the city - the first one ever issued, he said - and Post Commander Bob Jones, one of Giunta's football coaches at Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School, presented him with a lifetime membership in the post.

“You probably don't know this, but you are already a member,” Jones said, to which the ever-ready Giunta responded by digging out his wallet and showing his tattered membership card.

Though Giunta is wearing the medal around his neck, he said all the soldiers he's served with during his two tours in Afghanistan deserve one.

“I've seen every one of them go above and beyond the call of duty,” he said.

Giunta said being singled out for the honor has been hard to take. “It leaves a funny taste in my mouth for the cost at which it came,” he said.

During his two combat tours, his company lost 12 men in 27 months, and two of his closest friends, Sgt. Josh Brennan and Spc. Hugo Mendoza, died in the 2007 Taliban ambush in which Giunta's heroism was recognized.

“Talking about this doesn't make me feel that good afterward,” Giunta said.

Earlier Tuesday in Des Moines, Giunta paid tribute to the veterans who had gone before him during a ceremony in the Capitol rotunda.

Gov. Chet Culver, who proclaimed Tuesday “Staff Sgt. Sal Giunta Day,” said meeting the war hero was one of the highlights of his administration.

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