When Patriot Blood Overflows...

by Adam McCune on Nov 17th, 2010 at 12:50 am

This site is dedicated to stirring up young men of God to pursue biblical manhood with vigor and a complete lack of shame. I try to focus on spiritual issues since the manhood I am promoting is not born of machismo, adrenaline, or testosterone, but of the Word and Spirit of God. However, there are times when my love for country overflows and I can’t help but record my thoughts. Today is one of those days.

Yesterday, at 2pm, President Obama bestowed the Medal of Honor upon Staff Sergeant Salvatore Guinta, U.S. Army, for exposing himself to enemy fire in order to save the lives of his fellow soldiers after they were ambushed in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan, on October 25, 2007. He is the first living recipient of the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War.

Though other living heroes have received the medal in the past several years, all of them have been for actions that dated prior to or during the Vietnam War. Every Medal of Honor issued since that time has been posthumous.

I have been watching this story unfold since I first heard about it several months ago, and I want to commend the President for approving the issuance of the medal to Sgt. Giunta. Nothing should ever be taken away from the recipients of this medal over the past forty years, but since they have all been posthumous, our country has lacked a living embodiment of the honor itself. Therefore, to have a living recipient from my generation is critical to displaying the finest of manhood that our country has produced. We need him to be a living record of bravery even if he feels unworthy to have this responsibility placed upon his shoulders. Here some other random thoughts as to why I’m glad he is getting the Medal of Honor:

1. Sgt. Giunta deserves the medal because other living soldiers deserve it too. I have read biographies, the official reports, and correspondence from Medal of Honor recipients over the years and I cannot think of one who has failed to mention that they carry the medal around their neck on behalf of all the other soldiers who served just as bravely as them. They know that they have been selected, because of their actions, to embody something larger than themselves: the honor and courage of the American soldier. Undoubtedly, other living soldiers (and dead ones as well) deserve the medal, but since only a few receive it, Sgt. Giunta should wear it proudly for the sake of others who served faithfully.
2. Sgt. Giunta deserves the medal because we need a living testimony to the honor and bravery of our country’s soldiers. I have already mentioned this, but the unintended consequence of only bestowing this honor to those who gave all (and they fully deserve to be honored in this way too) is that the current generation has no living testimony of the qualities that deserve the medal. Today’s living medal recipients are very few in number, advanced in age, and soon to be gone from us. By giving Sgt. Giunta the medal, we have someone we can see.
3. Sgt. Giunta deserves the medal because it will hopefully lead to more living recipients in the near future. I find it hard to believe that we have only one worthy living recipient in just the last 40 years (and 8 years of warfare). For some reason, the requirements of the medal have become so high in nature that bravery in death was the only way to receive one (and I doubt that any of the posthumous recipients gave of themselves in the moment to earn the medal). I can appreciate the high standards of the medal, but by giving it to a living soldier, hopefully we can recognize other worthy living soldiers without compromising, in the least bit, the distinctive nature of the medal.
4. Sgt. Giunta deserves the medal because he does not think that he deserves the medal. The person most uncomfortable with the fact that a Medal of Honor is being issued is undoubtedly Sgt. Giunta. He has expressed the difficulty he has in receiving it because he does not feel worthy. Oh, how refreshing to have an American receive an honor without thinking himself entitled to it (unlike many of today’s athletes, celebrities, and Christian “extraordinaires”)! He is troubled by receiving the honor, which is an indication to me that he is the right man to carry the responsibility that comes with embodying the honor before the rest of the country.

I do not know if Sgt. Giunta is a believer in Christ or not. I do, however, see the marks of maturity and manhood upon him. His conduct is unquestionably awe-inspiring, but it is his reaction and expressed thoughts about the incident that reveal a substance in the heart that is worth emulating. While I probably watched TV on my couch and enjoyed a evening home with my wife on October 25, 2007, and thousands of young males spent their evening in front of a computer playing a video game that bears the name of the medal, Sgt. Giunta, as well as so many other American soldiers, submitted to discomfort and danger for the sake of our country’s safety.

Perhaps, between soldiers, one is worthy of more honor than another. Yet, for one who has not served at all, I believe they are all worthy of respect and honor.