Wounded Ranger “Salute Seen Around the World” Goes Viral.
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Josh Hargis, a Ranger with the 3rd Ranger Battalion, was
wounded last week in the attack that left four other members of his team
dead. The 3rd was conducting a mission to try to capture a HVT(High
Value Target), in the Panjwai district of Afghanistan.
With the little info we know so far, 36 members and a canine unit
were attempting to capture a high value target in Panjwai in southern
Afghanistan. When the troops arrived at the home, U.S. military
officials said, the unit did a typical “call out” asking for those
inside to come out.
One man appeared. Reports from the battlefield suggest he dropped to
his knees and lifted his shirt to show the U.S. forces that he was not
wearing a suicide bomb vest.
As several members of the Ranger unit moved toward the man to begin
questioning him, a woman wearing a suicide vest emerged from the house
and blew herself up, killing several members of the unit instantly,
along with the dog, and injuring others.
Another Afghan male tried to escape from the compound.
As U.S. army medics, explosives specialists and others in the unit
moved in to help the wounded, 13 improvised explosive devices went off,
killing and injuring more U.S. forces.
Josh was one of the wounded and was evacuated for medical assistance.
The photo below is Josh in a hospital in Afghanistan, right after the
doctors stabilized his injuries. His wife posted this picture, along
with what she received from Josh’s commander, this is a true warrior! No
matter the pain we know Josh is in, he render’s the most beautiful
salute you will ever see!~ Via Guardian of Valor
Post from Josh’s wife Taylor via FaceBook:
I received this picture today along with a letter from
the commander of the team Josh was a part of on the night of his
injuries. A letter to explain to me what kind of man I have the
privilege of being married to. He explained to me what happened and what
was going on in the picture.
“Josh was seriously wounded as you know, and survived for almost two
hours after his injury before arriving to the hospital. Josh was
immediately pushed through a series of surgeries and emerged hours later
into an intensive care unit here at our base in Afghanistan.
Despite being in intense pain and mental duress, Josh remained
alert and compassionate to the limited Rangers that were allowed to
visit his bedside. Prior to Josh being moved to Germany for his eventual
flight to America, we conducted a ceremony to award him with the Purple
Heart for wounds received in action.
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 picture, which we believe belongs on every news channel
and every news paper is attached. I have it hanging above my desk now
and will remember it as the single greatest event I have witnessed in my
ten years in the Army.”
Testing if I can post here.
ReplyDeleteJust joined Live Journal so I can.
So here goes my test before I write what I want to post here...
Please, if He leads you to do so, let me send you three failed efforts for our soldiers. The first I cannot describe openly here, since it drew vicious opposition from those who want our soldiers to lose. I don’t want them knowing I am here, and so might gain help to finish this task. They don’t know I am behind the next two efforts:
ReplyDeleteSecond, I tried in March, 2013 to get 22 conservative newspapers to ask readers a question. In light of the tenth anniversary of the start of the Iraq War, I wanted them to ask readers who had family members serving in the War, if they wanted home front efforts for the soldiers. I heard nothing, except I got an encouraging handwritten note. If you agree with this effort, and show this letter here with any commentary you want to add to enhance my effort, surely it will be seen and perhaps done. I would just need to remove from it what identifies me.
I asked a hometown station of Mr. Hargis to do this since it wrote about him. I have heard nothing. My point is Americans should have been mounting efforts to discourage enemy soldiers at least since March, 2013, to discourage the enemy soldiers who attacked Mr. Hargis and the members of his Unit. I could not get that in March. You can get it now, if you kindly help me (if He says to do so).
Third, I tried during 2012 to get a Republican candidate asked to say Americans who wanted to had a right to support the War, and the soldiers in it, besides by sending care packages. That is all we are allowed to do during this War – send them food, candy, and letters. Plus we can care for them and thank them when they return. Those efforts do nothing to enemy morale.
I was stopped in South Carolina by Mitt Romney’s staffer. I later was contacted by a national Romney staffer trying to recruit by email. I sent him the same request, without success.
I just finished begging four candidates going against Senator Graham in the South Carolina primary (one was supposed to run so I count him even if he is not running). I begged them to ask Romney, and two Iraq War veterans whose campaign staffs blocked me, if they would say my line now. Then the candidate in the primary says it with them. Like in 2012, I cannot get past the campaign staffs in South Carolina. I also failed after writing to Senator Scott and to South Carolina radio talk shows.
You can show excerpts of my pleas to these candidates without disclosing who I am. Surely one of the candidates will see your work and say my line despite his campaign staff’s objections. That should trigger outrage that Americans have been barred from discouraging enemy soldiers, including those who attacked Mr. Hargis and the soldiers in his Unit.
That is my request. Hopefully you see this.
I pray on posting this … If I serve Him, it is cleared but I lack the characters to include it here and keep this a single post. I can show you later if you are interested.