What real heroism looks like

THERE IS bravery, and then there is valor above and beyond it. Army Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta achieved the latter distinction in combat. Tomorrow at the White House, he will be awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in Afghanistan.

In October 2007, Giunta’s platoon walked into a classic L-shaped ambush. When properly executed, it is often not survivable. “There were more bullets in the air than stars in the sky,” Giunta recalled soberly. Though two soldiers were killed, his brave actions probably saved the lives of his remaining platoon members. Giunta will be the first living soldier since the Vietnam War to receive the Medal.

Excerpts from Giunta's interview with Vanity Fair:

What went through your head when you heard about [the Medal of Honor]?

“Fuck you,” I said. It sounds really awesome in theory, but what’s it worth? Brennan? Mendoza? No. I did what I did because in the scheme of painting the picture of that ambush, that was just my brush stroke. That’s not above and beyond. I didn’t take the biggest brush stroke, and it wasn’t the most important brush stroke. Hearing the Medal of Honor is like a slap in the face. I don’t think you know what I did. I didn’t do shit.

By your own definition, it’s brave, what you did out there.

I was one person being brave in a group of a whole bunch of people that were being just as brave. Everything had the same thing to lose: their friends and themselves. I guarantee, no one thought about that out there. Bravery gets thrown around a lot. I served in Battle Company Second of the 503rd with the bravest men I’ve ever met in my entire life, and I’m proud to say that. ... I’m just another American dude. I’m nothing special, trust me.

True, Giunta is nothing special. He is something extraordinarily special, trust me. And the fact that he doesn't know it makes him all the more special. Bravo.