Hero Moving to Fort Collins! [VIDEO]

The Coloradoan writes;

Army Staff Sgt. Sal Giunta, the nation's first living Medal of Honor recipient since the Vietnam War, will end his Army career in June and move to Fort Collins to pursue his education, a military spokesman said Tuesday.

Giunta has opted not to re-enlist and will leave the Army in mid-June, Army spokesman George Wright said. Giunta and his wife, Jenny, plan to move to Fort Collins, where he will attend school.

Wright said he didn't know what school Giunta will attend, and CSU officials said they couldn't comment on any prospective student because of privacy laws.

"We would be honored to have Staff Sgt. Giunta attend CSU," university spokesman Brad Bohlander said. "In this and every case, CSU cannot confirm or deny who has applied for enrollment at the university."

Giunta told the Army News Service in late January: "I hopefully will find my way to Colorado, and I'm looking at hopefully Colorado State. I'm looking at either of two things, business or natural resource management. I don't really know, but I know knowledge is power, and I'll just see where it takes me."

Giunta, 26, made his decision not to re-enlist before he received the Medal of Honor, his public affairs officer, Todd Oliver, wrote in an e-mail Tuesday from Italy.

"Giunta and his wife decided on leaving the U.S. Army a few years ago," Oliver said. "They both feel that this is a good time to separate from the service so that he can continue his education."

Colorado leaders welcomed Giunta's decision to move to the Centennial State.

Sen. Mark Udall met Giunta last year.

"It makes me smile to know that he is retiring to Fort Collins. He's a hero for Colorado," Udall said.

Rep. Cory Gardner echoed those sentiments.

"Sal Giunta is a hero among heroes - facing fire he pursued the enemy to save his brothers in arms," Gardner said. "Colorado welcomes a soldier whose bravery is truly mightier than our highest peaks."

Oliver said Giunta was not available for comment Tuesday and was flying back to Italy today. Giunta is with the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade and is assigned to a base in Vicenza, Italy.

Giunta was serving as a rifle team leader in Afghanistan when his platoon was attacked in 2007.

In announcing the award, the White House noted he went beyond the call of duty by exposing himself to enemy fire to pull a soldier back to cover. He also shot two insurgents who were trying to carry away a U.S. soldier.

Giunta has since been the Army's most noted serviceman, waving to the crowd from the field at the Super Bowl and appearing on late-night television shows. He sat with first lady Michelle Obama for President Barack Obama's State of the Union address last month.

Col. Greg Hapgood, a spokesman for the Iowa Army National Guard, said Giunta is an "incredibly high-quality young man and wonderful ambassador for the Army and the United States."

Hapgood called it "a huge loss to the military" to have him leave the Army but said he is happy for Giunta because whatever his dream is, "he will pursue it."

Giunta enlisted in the Army in November 2003 after graduating from Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He was in his second tour of duty in Afghanistan at the time of the ambush. In an earlier interview with The Associated Press, he refused to take credit for any extraordinary feats.

"I did my job and I did it to the best of my ability," he said.