Hanover Park native receives Bronze Star for heroism

On a dusty battlefield in Afghanistan a few weeks ago, a Hanover Park native was awarded the Bronze Star for repeated acts of heroism committed 3½ years earlier.

Joseph Giardino, 27, was presented the prestigious medal June 25 while on duty in Afghanistan. The acts that precipitated it came much earlier, on Nov. 17, 2005, when insurgents in Iraq opened fire on an American observation post.

Giardino's job was to fight back, a difficult task since the fire was coming from all directions. According to the official write-up, he climbed onto the roof, exposed, to fix a machine gun that was critical to their defense; he ordered a grenade launcher assault that allowed an American airstrike to hit the enemy position; he then coordinated a second airstrike and tended to a wounded Marine.

His actions, say the military, resulted in 33 insurgents killed and proper triage of the wounded Marine.

"By his zealous initiative, courageous actions and exceptional dedication to duty, (then) Cpl. Giardino reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service," the commendation reads in part.

His family knew none of it for more than three years.

Then, in April, he confided to his fiance, Eliz Eskeranli, that he may have been nominated for a commendation.

For what? she asked. He started to laugh.

"He said, 'I don't think I should tell you right now,'" Eskeranli said. It was a month before his current deployment would begin.

"'Let's wait for the official word, and then you can read the write-up.'"

She got the call in the middle of the night on June 25.

"Oh my God, they just presented me with my Bronze Star," he said excitedly.

"I am so proud of you!" Eskeranli shouted. She texted his mother, Sue: "Stop the Presses!"

Giardino shipped the medal and paperwork back to Eskeranli at their home in Los Angeles. His family is hoping he'll be back in the States by January; he is scheduled to be discharged in October 2010.

"At first I was in absolute awe," Sue Giardino said. "But I wasn't surprised. He's always been absolutely loyal to whatever he's doing."

There was a time when his parents thought their son would make the military his career. He joined the Marines after Sept. 11 and re-upped for a second stint, but now is eager to come home and start a family of his own.

Giardino, of Hanover Park, and Eskeranli, of Roselle, both graduated from Lake Park High School. They knew each other since sixth grade in Keeneyville Elementary District 20, but didn't connect until a few years ago in California, where she was living while he was stationed at the base in Oceanside.

Giardino was finishing up at College of DuPage, preparing to pursue a four-year degree, when he set school aside to join the Marines. His parents were worried - even a little upset- when he told them something his mother won't forget.

"The day you see me graduate from basic training and crossing the parade deck, you will be proud of me," he promised them.

"He told me he was leaving school to do something that means something," Sue Giardino recalled.

The Giardinos will be among the families recognized this coming Thursday at the Hanover Park Village Board meeting starting at 7:30 p.m.

The village is honoring military men and women from Hanover Park, and several local families will be present.