The father of the Iowan who recently received the Medal of Honor for his actions in Afghanistan says the hectic pace of life has not slowed down just yet for his son. Sal Guinta, a Hiawatha native, recently decided he will leave the military to go to college and get a degree. Guinta’s father Steve and mother Rose were at the Iowa Goldstar Museum this weekend for the unveiling of an exhibit that honors the Iowans who have received the nation’s highest military honor.
Guinta says they were proud of Sal when he entered the military and are “extremely proud” of his decision to get a degree. He says they will support their son if he decides to re-enlist the military in the future and come back as an officer or continue on in the private sector, he has their full support.
Sal Guinta is in Italy now preparing to leave the military and return to Fort Collins, Colorado where he will live with his wife and start school. Steve Guinta says they continue to get letters at their home in Iowa after people saw the Medal of Honor ceremony.
“They’re inspirational, you know, they’re full of patriotism, they’re full of just saying how proud you must be as parents, and what a wonderful job you must have done, all sorts of things like that,” Guinta says. He says some also ask for an autograph.
Guinta says the letters have come from all over and he says it’s amazing that some of them don’t even have any address.
“It is kind of interesting, it feels a little bit like Santa Claus when it has ‘Sal Guinta’ and then Iowa, no zip code, no nothing, no address, and it comes to our house,” Guinta says. Rose Guinta says it’s amazing that the letters get delivered with so little information, and says it’s one of the neat things that has happened to them since it the Medal of Honor award was announced.
The Iowa Gold Star Military Museum museum is open Monday through Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, go to: www.iowanationalguard.com and look for the museum link.