SakshiCapturing It
The third person was a press photographer who captured that miraculous moment and immortalized it. The photographer himself had no idea his creation was going to create a ripple in the country. The beautiful photo got published in a leading magazine. Unsurprisingly, the picture caught the attention of people from all around the world and became a symbol of the devotion of the military towards the rescue of the flood victim. Ultimately, the photographer was awarded best photography title.
In His Words
After few days of the incident, the rescue mission got over and Maroney moved back to his place. However, this time his family and friends sensed a change in him. On the other hand, Maroney was yet to get over the little girl and her hug. Like these many years passed by and a lot of things changed but the memory of the small girl still lingered on. In fact, it did not fade away a bit.
Remembering Her
The sergeant vividly remembered how the girl remained immune to the grave situation. He would never forget to mention the girl while discussing the rescue mission. He told Airforce Time how the girl pointed towards her water-filled home and school and told Maroney about them. How she remained calm and fearless while riding the helicopter which is the least you expect from a kid. Such was the impression of girl on him. He thought that was the last time he was meeting the girl.
Writing It Down
Maroney had a hobby of maintaining a journal that documented all his achievements and defeats. The journal had everything ranging from bigger achievements to smallest moments of joy. Naturally, he mentioned the girl in his journal too. When asked about the girl in an interview he picked out the words he had written in his journal to describe the moment. He said “picked up the cutest little girl today. Gave me the biggest hug, and I melted.”
Strength To Continue
Maroney explained 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.”
The Picture Goes Global
The picture was special in the sense that both the person hugging each other did not even know each other’s name. The picture got so popular that it became the face of military coins. Along with that, the big companies like AT&T phone cards and Burger King placements put their picture on it too. The photo surpassed another level when it got featured as the cover page of People’s “American Heroes” collector’s edition.