SukritiWriting It Down
Maroney was in a habit of keeping a journal to keep a track of all that he has achieved or lost in life and even the smallest happy or stressing moments. During the interview, he read his words from the day this angelic girl hugged him. The words were, “picked up the cutest little girl today. Gave me the biggest hug, and I melted.” The amazing part isn’t over yet as the day had much more significance than the sergeant actually thought.
Strength To Continue
Maroney once told in an interview, “for me, that picture is her smile, and the embrace she gave me was enough to refill my tank, and we went back out and began picking up more people. On that day, it was exactly what I needed.” What a great day it would have been. The point was that Maroney didn’t even know this girl’s name.
Put Him In La-La Land
A complete week went by in rescuing people from different affected places. Patroling above the flooded water, without any breaks was too much to take. Seeing such a terrible condition of New Orleans was too depressing for him but as he said in an interview, “it had been such a rough week when she wrapped me up in that hug, I was in la-la land. Nothing else existed. I was just loving that hug.”
A Hug Forever Captured
What were the odds? The moment this little girl happily hugged Maroney, a press photographer was not only present at the very moment but he managed to click a picture at the perfect time. The photograph became a famous symbol of the military help received by the people as it was published in the leading magazines across the globe. Whether it be the photograph or the girl’s innocent smile, something about this picture won people’s heart. Not just that this picture won hearts but even won awards to the photographer.
The Picture Goes Global
None of them knew each other, yet once the hurricane was over their photo represented the rescue effort. The photographer handed over a copy of the picture to Maroney and right after that, the picture was cemented on the military coins too. Burger King placemats and AT&T phone cards had their picture too. It was 10 years later that this picture appeared on the cover page of People’s “American Heroes” collector’s edition.
Meant So Much
Over the years, Maroney kept the picture close to him during his tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. After returning from the war zone the sergeant was suffering from PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder), a common disorder that many soldiers who have been to the war or seen the violence suffer for at least once in their lives. Maroney found hope from this photo and he was able to relate to that girl’s positive emotions. Many times he used to thank her in silence for giving him a warm memory.