Josh Hargis, an Army Ranger, was thought to be unconscious in a hospital bed when he was presented with the Purple Heart.
But when the medal was given to him, Hargis was able to salute his senior, which was captured in a now-viral photo circulated widely across social media networks.
His wife uploaded the photo to Facebook, showing him raising his arm to show respect.
Hargis, of Cincinnati, Ohio, suffered severe injuries when a female suicide bomber blew herself up in Afghanistan last week, reported the Cincinnati Enquirer. The blast killed four other members of his Army Ranger battalion, who were stationed in Panjwai in Kandahar Province.
“Josh was seriously wounded, as you know, and survived for almost two hours after his injury before arriving to the hospital,” Hargis’ commander wrote, according to the paper.
His wife, Taylor Hargis, said that Josh recently came out of surgery when the photo was captured.
“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,” Taylor Hargis said on her Facebook page.
She added: “Despite being in intense pain and mental duress, Josh remained alert and compassionate to the limited Rangers that were allowed to visit him 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.”
Josh’s commander, whom he saluted, told his wife that “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.”
