When we think about the sacrifices our veterans make we normally think of heroes who distinguish themselves in combat, but that's just the tip of the iceberg.
One Air Force member's act of kindness - captured in a photo taken while he was "sleeping on the job" - reminds us all of the important work our troops do off the battlefield.
Chief Master Sergeant John Gebhardt spent more than 30 years in the Air Force, and was deployed in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq. While serving at Iraq's Balad Air Base, he made a special connection that would be remembered forever.
Gebhardt made a habit of visiting the base's military hospital to look after the injured children who were being treated there. Every fussy kid he picked up meant one less thing for the nurses to deal with, and he was especially helpful with one little girl.
The 2 or 3-year-old had been taken to the hospital after being shot in the head. Her family had been killed by insurgents who left her for dead, but she managed to pull through.
For 4 nights in a row, Gebhardt slept in a chair in the little girl's room so he could comfort her, which is where the iconic photo was taken.
Find out what happened after the photo was taken on the next page!
Nurses at the Air Base hospital say that Gebhardt had the "magic touch," and he was the only one who could comfort the little girl.
After a few months she recovered and went to live with her uncle, and Gebhardt doesn't know her name or what happened after that. But every so often he still thinks about her.
"I pray for the best for the Iraqi children," he told Air Force Link, "I can't tell the difference between their kids and our kids. The Iraqi parents have the same care and compassion for their children as any American."
A nurse snapped a picture of Gebhardt comforting the girl and he sent it to his wife back home in Kansas. By the time he returned to America, it had spread around the world. Gebhardt actually had to delete his Facebook account because the photo attracted so much attention
Today he's retired from the Air Force, but people still approach him to talk about the picture and thank him for his service.
"I've had too much credit for doing too little," he says, "it's just what anybody would have done. The photo was just a small example of acts of compassion that went on over there every day, every hour."
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[H/T: Reporter Herald]