Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, BETHESDA, MD  –   Recipients of the Medal of Honor (MoH), the highest U.S. military decoration, visited patients and staff at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Dec. 13, sharing their stories of selfless service and sacrifice, and thanking current service members for their commitment to duty.

Former U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta was among the MoH recipients that Navy CAPT (Dr.) Melissa Austin, Walter Reed’s director, and Army Master Sgt. Joshua Queen, Walter Reed’s senior enlisted leader, welcomed to the medical center, thanking them for their service to the nation and giving each a Walter Reed coin.

Speaking with recovering service members in Walter Reed’s Military Advanced Training Center (MATC), Giunta offered them words of inspiration. He told them not to give up facing their challenges, and not to be afraid to follow paths other than the ones they originally mapped out for their lives, explaining that he never planned to earn the MoH. He explained the real heroes are his comrades who gave their lives for the cause.

Giunta was the first living person since the Vietnam War to receive the MoH. He saved the lives of members of his squad after they were ambushed and pinned down by heavy enemy fire on Oct. 25, 2007, during the War in Afghanistan. On Nov. 16, 2010, President Barack Obama awarded Giunta the MoH during a White House ceremony.

With the MoH draped around his neck in Walter Reed’s MATC, Giunta pointed to his lapel pin bearing the emblem of his former unit, the 173rd Airborne Brigade, and said, “This means more to me.” When he found out he would receive the MoH, he said, "If I'm a hero, every man that stands around me, every woman in the military, everyone who goes into the unknown is a hero." He gave his original MoH to the 173rd Airborne Brigade on July 5, 2017 during a dedication ceremony for the Medal of Honor Walkway, located outside of the brigade’s headquarters building in Vicenza, Italy.

U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Matthew Williams was also among the MoH recipients who visited Walter Reed on Dec. 13. President Donald Trump awarded him the MoH on Oct. 30, 2019 at the White House.

Williams earned the MoH for his actions on April 6, 2008 as a member of Operational Detachment Alpha 3336, Special Operations Task Force 11, Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan in the Battle of Shok Valley. He “braved intense enemy fire to lead a counterattack across a valley of ice-covered boulders and a fast-moving, ice cold, and waist-deep river. Under withering fire, Sergeant Williams and his local national commandos fought up the terraced mountainside to the besieged element.

Arriving at the lead element's position, Sergeant Williams arrayed his Afghan commandos to provide suppressive fire which kept the insurgent fighters from overrunning the position.” Also, when a member of his team was injured, Williams “braved enemy fire once again to provide buddy-aid and to move the [team member] down the sheer mountainside to the casualty collection point. Noting that the collection point was about to be overrun by enemy fighters, Sergeant Williams led the Afghan commandos in a counterattack that lasted for several hours.”

“When helicopters arrived to evacuate the wounded, Sergeant Williams again exposed himself to enemy fire, carrying and loading casualties onto the helicopters while continuing to direct commando firepower to suppress numerous insurgent positions,” his citation states.

The MOH is normally awarded by the president of the United States in his role as the commander in chief of the armed forces. It recognizes service members who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor and is awarded "in the name of the United States Congress," which is why it’s sometimes called the Congressional Medal of Honor. Only 3,500 MoH have been awarded since it was first awarded in 1863, and there are only about 60 living recipients.