The White House said today a date has been set for the ceremony where a soldier from eastern Iowa will receive the nation’s highest military honor. Staff Sergeant Sal Giunta of Hiawatha will be awarded the Medal of Honor on November 16 in a White House ceremony.

The 25-year-old Giunta is being recognized for charging into enemy fire to pull another soldier to cover after his squad was ambushed by insurgents in Afghanistan in October 2007. Two U.S. soldiers were killed in the attack.

Giunta will become the first living recipient of the Medal of Honor since Vietnam.