PLAINS TOWNSHIP -- A local veteran received two medals from Representative Tom Marino.
"It's a little overwhelming," Air Force veteran Staff Sergeant Craig Trunzo said. "It's my first interaction with the congressman. I've met a couple presidents in the past but never a congressman."
Representative Marino came to the VA Medical Center near Wilkes-Barre to present Trunzo with two medals he earned during the decade he served in the air force.
"After 911, they created a medal for the Global War on Terror, which I earned during my time in, but before it was created," Trunzo said. "So, it wasn't presented to me. I also earned a Korean Defense Service medal for having served in Korea, and again, that was created after my time in the military."
"Without our veterans, the women and men serving, or who have served, we would not have what we have in this country and the whole world would be different," Representative Tom Marino said.
Staff Sergeant Trunzo's family and hospital staff attended the ceremony. The people who run the VA said they invited their staff to the ceremony to remind them of their mission here at the hospital.
"We're not just a regular hospital," Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center Director Russell Lloyd said. "We're here to serve our nation's heroes, our veterans."
After Staff Sergeant Trunzo received his medals, he said this is a moment he will never forget.
"A lot of people make a sacrifice to this country and a lot don't necessarily get the recognition that they should or get awards that they've earned in the past and it's nice that something like this could happen," Trunzo said.
In addition to the medals, Congressman Marino gave Staff Sergeant Trunzo's kids collectors pins from the House of Representatives. He also gave his wife a medallion.