Wednesday, October 16, 2013

THE WOUNDED RANGER’S SALUTE DURING A PURPLE HEART CEREMONY

........ THAT LEFT THE ROOM WEEPING

 

Wounded, bandaged and hooked up to tubes in an Afghanistan intensive care unit, a U.S. Army Ranger, thought by hospital staff to be unconscious, heard his commander’s voice and addressed him with the iconic symbol of respect: a salute.

josh hargis
U.S. Army Ranger Josh Hargis, wounded at a base in Afghanistan, raises his hand in salute during his Purple Heart ceremony. He was thought to be unconscious and raised his arm despite a doctor initially trying to restrain him. (Image source: Taylor Hargis/Facebook)


Josh Hargis, a Purple Heart recipient with the 3rd Ranger Battalion, was injured after 13 improvised explosive devices went off while he was conducting a mission in Afghanistan to capture a high value target, according to the website Guardian of Valor. Several members of the unit were killed by a woman wearing a suicide vest and others injured by the IEDs that went off afterward.
Hargis’ commander sent his wife, Taylor, a letter explaining what her husband endured along with a photo, which the Guardian of Valor is calling the “salute seen around the world.”
Taylor Hargis posted the note and photo on Facebook over the weekend, calling it a letter that details the “kind of man I have the privilege of being married to.”

read more: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/10/16/the-wounded-rangers-salute-during-a-purple-heart-ceremony-that-left-the-room-weeping/