In the early hours of October 19, 2007, UH-60 Black Hawk and CH-47 Chinook helicopters tore through the Afghan sky, lifting American and Afghan forces out of Korengal Outpost and into the jagged mountains below. The mission was Operation Rock Avalanche — a high-risk insertion into the southern Korengal Valley designed to cut off Taliban escape routes and cripple their ability to attack U.S. and allied troops.
For Salvatore Giunta, it was his second deployment to Afghanistan.
Two years earlier, during his first tour, Giunta had been shot in the leg and had lost four close comrades to an improvised explosive device. After a year back home, he volunteered to return to combat. Now 22 years old, then-Specialist Giunta served as a rifle team leader with B Company, 1st Platoon, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team.
Less than a week after arriving in Korengal — a place soldiers grimly nicknamed “the Valley of Death” — fate closed in.
The Ambush in the Darkness
On October 25, 2007, B Company was stretched across the mountainsides. First Platoon held overwatch positions on Honcho Hill, providing security for the units below. Just two days earlier, Taliban fighters had killed Sgt. Larry Rougle, wounded two others, and escaped with machine guns and night-vision equipment.
After Captain Dan Kearney departed the village by helicopter, the platoons began their long descent back to base under the cover of night. As they moved along a steep, rocky slope, hell erupted.
Gunfire shattered the silence. RPGs screamed through the air. Bullets poured in from multiple directions.
“More Bullets in the Air Than Stars in the Sky”
Amid the chaos, Giunta saw Sgt. Erick Gallardo fall and rushed forward, believing his comrade had been hit. Gallardo was saved by his helmet — but Giunta was not. He was struck twice, one round hitting his body armor, another slamming into the weapon strapped to his shoulder.
The enemy was dangerously close. The fire was so intense that Apache helicopters could not provide air support, and Second Platoon was too far away to help.
“There were more bullets in the air than stars in the sky,” Giunta later recalled.
“They were above you, in front of you, behind you, below you. Hitting the dirt, flying over your head — everywhere. They were close. As close as I’ve ever seen.”
Realizing the ambush was coming from two directions, Giunta and Gallardo understood that the only way to survive was to attack. They fought forward, returning fire and hurling grenades to suppress the enemy.
When they reached Spc. Frank Eckrode, he was badly wounded — shot four times — desperately trying to clear a jammed SAW. That was when Giunta realized the unthinkable:
Sgt. Josh Brennan — the point man and Giunta’s closest friend — was missing.
Running Toward the Fire
Leaving Gallardo to tend to Eckrode, Giunta sprinted up the hill, fully exposed to enemy fire. At the crest, he saw two Taliban fighters attempting to carry Brennan away from the battlefield.
Giunta opened fire, killing one insurgent. The other fled, dropping Brennan’s shattered body behind him. Brennan had been hit eight times.
Giunta dragged his friend back to cover and fought to keep him alive as the rest of the squad secured the area. Soon, Second and Third Platoons arrived.
The ambush had lasted just three minutes.
But five soldiers, including the platoon medic, were down. Giunta kept Brennan alive long enough for a medevac helicopter to evacuate him — but Brennan died the following day.
Honor, Humility, and Legacy
Two days later, Giunta was informed that Captain Kearney had recommended him for the Medal of Honor. On November 16, 2010, at the White House, President Barack Obama presented him with America’s highest military decoration — making Giunta the first living recipient since the Vietnam War.
“I’m not here because I’m a great soldier,” Giunta said during the ceremony.
“I’m here because I served with great soldiers.”
True to those words, in 2017 Giunta entrusted his Medal of Honor to the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, ensuring it would remain with the soldiers who shared the mountains, the fear, and the courage of that night in Korengal.
