Iowa hero takes on a new foe

Source: Omaha World-Herald
Published: Tuesday 31 January, 2012

Medal of Honor recipient Sal Giunta has a simple suggestion that he thinks could help combat veterans returning from Afghanistan with PTSD.

Drop the D.

"I just don't like the word 'disorder,' " Giunta said in Omaha Monday. "Putting the disorder on there brings that negative stigma. … I think it's post-traumatic stress. That's what it is."

Whatever you call it — and it's been called "shell shock," "battle fatigue" and then PTSD at various points in history — there's no denying that many troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan continue to suffer from acute anxiety, depression, insomnia, alcohol abuse and other symptoms years after their homecoming.

That, in fact, was why Giunta, an Iowa native, was in Omaha on Monday. The first living American to receive the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War served as the keynote speaker at a fundraiser for At Ease, a local nonprofit that helps service members struggling with PTSD.

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