A wounded soldier salute when everyone in the room thought the soldier--Josh Hargis--was unconscious prompted grown men to cry, his wife said.
Taylor Hargis received pictures of a medal ceremony in which Hargis was receiving a Purple Heart for wounds he suffered in Afghanistan.
Hargis was transported to the hospital there for the ceremony.
The team commander wrote: “A simple ceremony, you can picture a room full of Rangers, leaders, doctors, and nurses surrounding his bedside while the Ranger Regimental Commander pinned the Purple Heart to his blanket. During the presentation the Commander publishes the official orders verbally and leaned over Josh to thank him for his sacrifice.
“Josh, whom everybody in the room (over 50 people) assumed to be unconscious, began to move his right arm under the blanket in a diligent effort to salute the Commander as is customary during these ceremonies. Despite his wounds, wrappings, tubes, and pain, Josh fought the doctor who was trying to restrain his right arm and rendered the most beautiful salute any person in that room had ever seen. I cannot impart on you the level of emotion that poured through the intensive care unit that day. Grown men began to weep and we were speechless at a gesture that speak volumes about Josh’s courage and character.”
The commanding officer said that he has the picture above his desk.
“[I] will remember it as the single greatest event I have witnessed in my ten years in the Army,” he said.
The picture and story have been passed around the country with dozens of news outlets reporting on it and hundreds sharing the photo.
His wife told people via Facebook: “Please continue to share Josh’s story. Thank you to all who have and are reaching out and helping us through this. The world should know what is happening over seas. The world should know what true heroes and warriors are.”
