On October 25, 2007, Salvatore Giunta and his 173rd Airborne Brigade team went on a night patrol in the mountains of Eastern Afghanistan and stepped into history. The unit was ambushed and came under Taliban fire from all directions. In the heat of the battle, 22-year-old Giunta did something almost unimaginable. President Barack Obama described what happened that night at a White House ceremony three years later as Giunta stood ready to become the first living recipient of the nation's highest award for valor in combat, the Medal of Honor, since the Vietnam War.

"Sal sprinted ahead, at every step meeting relentless enemy fire with his own. He crested a hill alone, with no cover but the dust kicked up by the storm of bullets still biting into the ground. There, he saw a chilling sight: the silhouettes of two insurgents carrying the other wounded American away -- who happened to be one of Sal's best friends. Sal never broke stride. He leapt forward. He took aim. He killed one of the insurgents and wounded the other, who ran off."