Sal Giunta Scholarship of Honor in memory                             of Sgt Brennan and Spc Mendoza

It had been over 40 years since a living Medal of Honor recipient was awarded our nation’s highest military honor. SSG Sal Giunta was the first living recipient of the 911 Generation to earn the Medal of Honor for his actions on October 25, 2007.

The Sal Giunta Scholarship of Honor will be awarded annually at his alma mater, John F. Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The scholarship will honor the soldiers he tried to save, SGT Josh Brennan and SPC Hugo Mendoza. It will continue Sal’s legacy and allow SGT Brennan and SPC Mendoza's spirit to live on.

It will first be presented in the Spring of 2012.

*Photo by Nick DelCalzo

Staff Sgt. Giunta is a genuine American hero. The humble warrior is committed to saluting the two fallen warriors who died that day. Giunta will remember that day, not because of his actions that earned him the Medal of Honor, but he'll remember it as the day he lost two friends.

Sgt Joshua Brennen was born May 30, 1985 in El Paso, Texas to Janice Gates, Ontario, Oregon and Michael Brennan of McFarland, Wis. Joshua attended high school in Ontario, graduating in 2003. He spent his summers living with his father in McFarland, Wis.

Soon after graduation he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served as a paratrooper with the renowned 173rd Airborne Infantry Brigade. This was his second tour of duty in Afghanistan. Joshua was awarded the Bronze Star for valor during his first tour of duty. He also received a Purple Heart after being shot in the leg in August 2007.

SSG Giunta was tight with Brennan; they trained together and traveled around Italy, where they were based... "He was athletic, smart, funny, always someone you could count on."

 Spc. Hugo Mendoza was an avid churchgoer who dreamed of becoming a firefighter, He graduated from Trevor Browne High School in 1997 and enlisted as an Army Medic in 2005. With a big smile and instinctive tendency toward helping those in need, Spc. Mendoza was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Airborne Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, based in Vicenza, Italy. After leaving Glendale, Arizona, to deploy to Europe and then to the Middle East with his unit, he would make sure to call his mom in Detroit whenever he could.

SSG Giunta comments, "He truly cared about other people more than he did about himself." And, as a bonus: "He knew the best jokes."

Contributors

Brian LaViolette Foundation

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