RSSDirty Dave and the Sergeant
Gene Lalor | November 26, 2010
Dirty Dave Letterman is a contemptible creature. In various posts on this website, I’ve documented the bases for his licentiousness, his twisted, sniping attacks on all things conservative, his partisan, servile worship of all things liberal.
On Thanksgiving Eve, Letterman didn’t come close to achieving a personal redemption from his demons or compensating for his ”comical” misrepresentations over the years but he did accomplish an admirable feat, largely by keeping his mouth shut.
His primary guest that night was 25 year old Hiawatha, Iowa native, Staff Sgt. Salvatore Augustine Giunta, the only living recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor, to whom Letterman devoted virtually his entire show.
Demonstrating their appreciation of Giunta’s service to his country and amazing display of selfless courage, at the end of the interview, Letterman’s studio audience, which usually reserves its applause for celebs, and Democrats, spontaneously rose to their feet and gave Sgt. Giunta an extended ovation the likes of which I had never before witnessed on “The Late Show.”
At least it appeared spontaneous. It’s always possible the director’s “Applause” sign was supplemented Wednesday night by a sign that instructed the audience to ”Jump to Your Feet, Applaud Loudly, Emotionally, Enthusiastically and Lengthily,” but I doubt it.
It’s also always possible that Letterman invited America’s latest hero purely as a ratings boost and that he was merely feigning a sincere, wrapt admiration for Sgt. Giunta and his accomplishment but I doubt even that.
Letterman had to all but pry the story of what happened on the night of October 25, 2007 from the shy, self-effacing, former clerk at his local Subway store who freely admitted that his initial interest in the United States Army came as a result of the offer of a free tee-shirt. Sgt. Giunta smiled and said he could always use another tee, especially if it were free.
(For a brief clip of the Giunta-Letterman interview, see http://tiny.cc/0s96n)
First platoon rifle team leader Sgt. Giunta more than earned his shirt that night on patrol in the remote Afghanistan Korangel Valley known to U.S. troops as the Valley of Death.
His unit was ambushed by 10-15 Taliban insurgents heavily armed with AK-47′s, RPG launchers, and machine guns, as Giunta explained, in an “L-” shaped attack in close proximity, which rendered the protection of American Apache copters virtually useless.
After squad leader Erick Gallardo was killed, Giunta, who claimed no personal credit or heroism for merely doing what he was trained to do, risked maiming and death to rescue a buddy, Sgt. Josh Brennan, who was being dragged off by the Taliban. Giunta told Letterman the entire encounter only took five to ten minutes, he couldn’t recall how long.
For more detail on the skirmish, see a report on the ChristianScienceMonitor.com, http://tiny.cc/1ofyx
Sgt. Giunta is a reminder that, whatever he says, America can learn a great deal from this gentle, brave soldier and his exploits in the Valley of Death. Giunta was also able to articulate what he had to do in order to save Sgt. Brennan’s life, what Letterman stumbled all over himself trying to say, namely that in war soldiers have to kill their enemy. Liberals such as Dave despise war, as should we all. Trained, courageous citizen soldiers such as Sal Giunta understand the bloody necessities that war entails.
I hope Sgt. Giunta also appreciated the ostentatiousness of Letterman’s presentation of a “Tonight Show” tee shirt.
Contributor's website: http://www.genelalor.com/
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