Hikers Look Closer At Man's Backpack, Realize He's Carrying A Fellow Marine Who Was Injured In Combat

Sep 23, 2019 by apost team

What would you do if you saw your close friend lose his legs in combat? Would you wish your friend well, walk away and go on with your life? Or would you do what this exceptionally compassionate man did?

It all started in the year 2010 when John Nelson and another soldier named Jonathon Blank were together in Afghanistan. The two young men were servicemen in the Marines who had been sent there and were working in the special operations unit. All was fine until a bomb went off and destroyed Jonathon’s legs. His survival was a miracle, but he had to have 60 or more surgeries, and it took him three years to recover.

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Being together during the war drew the two men so close together they would be lifelong friends. When they got back home to the United States, the time they spent together was extensive. Jonathon’s passion for going hiking and spending time outdoors hadn’t changed, even though he no longer had his legs. Since he first settled in Utah, Jonathon dreamt about hiking up Mount Timpanogos, a mountain many hikers wish to climb reports Fox News.

One day, Jonathon heard John ask him if he would like to go hiking on the mountain he longed to visit one day. Jonathon was all for the idea. He was definitely eager to go up the side of Mount Timpanogos. However, the venture would entail John going up the sharp-angled mountain with a 135-pound man on his back and traveling more than 14 miles with no one there to help him.

The adventure John and Jonathon went on attracted more attention than they ever expected. When a couple of hikers saw John with his friend on his back, Jonathon appeared to be an oversized backpack to them. A more thorough look revealed that it wasn’t a backpack that they saw. The two hikers were at a loss for words, and photos of John carrying Jonathon on his back went viral.

How do you feel about John’s actions? Do you think more people should show the kind of compassion John did? Please tell other people to read this story and comment on it.