In 2012, Marine Corporal Garrett Carnes lost both legs while serving in Afghanistan. Upon his homecoming, hundreds of people greeted the 22-year-old hero with a warm welcome — but it was one stranger who unexpectedly made the biggest impact of all.
During the busy fanfare, a Marine emerged from the crowd to give Cpt Carnes a tearful salute — and then, a truly powerful hug. Though he'd never met the marine before, the embrace was so touching that Carnes didn't want to let go. Seconds later, the mystery Marine had disappeared, but Carnes wanted to thank him. When he went to look for him among the masses, it was as if the stranger vanished into thin air. Carnes and his wife went home and immediately took to Facebook to see if anyone knew the identity of the man. Within 24 hours, they found Lance Corporal Aaron Means.
As it turned out, Means had taken the day off from work and drove nearly five hours just to salute Carnes in uniform. He was so inspired by the injured Marine's ability to keep his sense of humor and love of life in tact that he devoted himself to honoring Cpl Carnes in person. Cpt Carnes and Cpl Means reconnected, and stayed in touch.
During his recovery, Cpl Carnes made it his mission to walk on prosthetics by the time his fellow Marines returned home from deployment. After just six weeks of physical therapy, Cpl Carnes greeted his comrades while standing on the tarmac. What an incredible hero.
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