A photo of an injured Army Ranger saluting his commanding officer from his hospital bed is inspiring thousands of people on Facebook right now. Here’s the story behind it.
Corporal Josh Hargis from Cincinnati was in the middle of his fourth tour in Afghanistan on October 6th, when he was seriously injured by a suicide bomber. Four other soldiers were killed.
After Josh got out of surgery, his commanding officer . . . along with more than 50 other soldiers, doctors, and nurses . . . went to his hospital room to see him be presented with a Purple Heart. And they all ASSUMED Josh was still unconscious.
But when his commanding officer pinned the medal on to his blanket, Josh started moving. Then a doctor tried to restrain him, but Josh fought against him, raised his right arm, and saluted.
Someone managed to snap a photo of it, which was sent to Josh’s wife, Taylor, along with a letter from his commanding officer, where he described the moment as, quote, “the single greatest event I have witnessed in my ten years in the Army.”
He also said he thought the photo belonged on, quote, “every news channel and [in] every newspaper.” So Taylor posted it on Facebook. And right now, it’s being run by news outlets all over the WORLD.
By the way, Josh has since had his breathing tube removed, and his mother says he’s in good spirits. His wife has also talked to him on the phone and says that from the sound of his voice, she can tell “he’s going to be just fine.”
Incidentally, he was originally REJECTED by the Army, because he’d broken his leg in a skiing accident. But he finally got in after writing letter after letter to the SURGEON GENERAL.
