When people serve together in the military, they often form a bond that is there for life. They tend to spend a lot of time with each other and they get to know each other on a very personal level. In addition, it is not only the people that they serve with but it is also individuals that are also veterans, regardless of whether they have ever personally met each other or not. That was the case with Jonathan Blank and Jonathan Nelson.
Ever since they served together in Afghanistan a decade ago, they have been inseparable. They were a part of a special operations unit of the Marines in Afghanistan but Blank was injured when an explosion occurred. In fact, he lost both of his legs but that doesn’t stop these two Marines from still hanging out with each other and even going hiking with each other.
Jonathon Blank and Nelson served in the special operations unit of the Marine Corps together in Afghanistan 10 years ago. https://t.co/5WXy3sR7tV
— FOX4 News Kansas City (@fox4kc) August 27, 2019
Fox59 reports that Nelson was in Utah driving past Mount Timpanogos when he had an unusual thought: “I’m going to take Jonathon to the top of that, by myself.”
This may seem strange to most people considering that Blank had lost both of his legs but these two were accustomed to dealing with difficult situations.
“We shared a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get to where we were, and it was all worth it,” Blank said.
Marine Staff Sgt. Jonathon Blank lost his legs when an improvised explosive device detonated next to him in Afghanistan.
He turned heads this weekend when he hiked to the top of Mount Timpanogos. Blank's Marine buddy, John Nelson, carried him on his back. https://t.co/1HnlL15vVC
— CNN (@CNN) August 28, 2019
The accident that cost Blank his legs occurred when the two of them were close to each other. An IED exploded, causing the severe injury.
“I thought this would be something epic for him to experience, to actually get to the saddle,” Nelson said.
It turns out it really was an amazing experience. Nelson climbed the 14.3 miles with 135 pound Blank on his back. They went up 4500 feet in elevation.
“Not only have I lived through this, but we’re also special operations guys,” Blank said. “We can do anything. We can maybe instill that mindset into other people.”
Source: Newsner
