Our Medal of Honor Recipiant

   Sadly if you blinked while he was there, you would have missed the presence of Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta at last nights Superbowl. He was honored by having him stand in the end zone during a time out on the field, during the 3rd quarter.

He was shown waving to the over 100,000 fans for 2-3 minutes, and less than 15 seconds for those of us watching TV. He was joined by several others in uniform lined up along the back of the end zone. Who they were we do not know, nor does it really matter,or the reason for them being singled out. They deserved the brief recognition.

Salvatore however is just a pinch different. You see he is the only soldier to survive the very reason he was awarded the Medal of Honor. The first to do so since Viet Nam. That is also why he is so important to the rest of us. We need our Hero's, and this young man is that and more.

 Yet when given the chance to educate our young people about him and his actions, we reduce it to a sound bite. One that I heard no mention of during all of this mornings news wrap ups on the Super Bowl. They made sure we all knew how a second rate singer screwed up the National Anthem however.

 And yet I cringed as I heard the names of Football players and the the term Hero in the same sentence this morning. Hero ? when are we going to demand  true Men of Valor be refereed to as such. And not some one who was merely blessed with a large body and runs fast.

Especially for a young man who was thinking of nothing more than saving his friends life that day as the enemy attempted to carry his wounded freind away to certain torture and death.

 Knowing 1st hand just how hard it is to follow through the almost insurmountable procedures that must be followed to ensure the integrity of our country's highest honor. It guarantees that once approved, there is no doubt the recipient will forever be forced to liver a life in the spotlight.

I saw it 1st hand almost 8 years ago for young SFC Paul Smith.I cringe as the 4 April anniversary of his deeds approach once again.

 I am not going to try and retell Staff Sergeant Giunta's tale. I just wanted you to know that for a brief moment, FOX News did the right thing and turned it's camera on a young man who made a difference. A young man I would want my grandsons to emulate. Valor..............enough said.