MSNBC is reporting that President Barack Obama has awarded the Medal of Honor to Salvatore Giunta (jee-UN-tah) on Tuesday. That makes the 25-year-old Iowan the first living service member from the Iraq or Afghanistan wars to be so honored. Seven others have received the award posthumously. Obama called Giunta a solider who is "as humble as he is heroic" and said the ceremony was a "joyous occasion." The Army says Giunta was a rifle team leader in eastern Afghanistan's Korengal Valley when his squad was split in two after an ambush by insurgents. While under fire, Giunta pulled a fellow soldier to cover and rescued another who was being dragged away by the enemy. Well done and well deserved.
Read more at MSNBC.