great soldiers. reporter: the brigade s sergeant major frank velez said it left him speechless. i said, are you sure you want to do that? i said, yes, i think it belongs to the 173rd. reporter: the bring grade captured a moment of humble strength among grief. i want this to stay here in vi sen sa, italy. there were a few gasps in the crowd and folks going wild. that is incredible this just really happened. reporter: cnn first talked to the soldier in 2010 about the battle. i think about it and it hurts. but to say it out loud makes it that much more real. sal and his platoon were several days into the mission in the valley, the most dangerous valley in northeast afghanistan.