Florida Cancer Survivor, 11, With Broken Prosthetic Crosses Finish Line on Back of Marine
Christina Ng
ABC News
10/11/2012
Spectators at a children’s triathlon in Florida were brought to tears by the sight of Marines carrying a little boy with a broken prosthetic leg across the finish line.
Bone cancer-survivor Ben Baltz, 11, was participating in his third triathlon of the summer when he had an accident with his prosthetic leg Sunday during the final portion of the race.
“The screws came loose and it fell off and the Marine picked me up and he ran the rest of the way,” Ben said. “It was pretty nice.”
His mother, Kim Baltz, was waiting at the finish line and wondering where he son was when she heard the announcer say, “Turn around and look at what’s happening on the course.”
She turned around to see Ben riding on a Marine’s back, surrounded by five other Marines.
“It just made me start crying that they would have picked him up and helped him finish the race,” she said.
The Marine who carried Ben was Pfc. Matt Morgan of San Diego, Calif. Morgan, 19, has been in the Marines for a year and is based in Pensacola, Fla. A group of Marines had come to the Sea Turtle Tri to volunteer…
The article continues at ABC News.
From CNN:
The Marine who carried Ben is Matthew Morgan, Private First Class at Marine Detachment Corry Station, a training command in Pensacola that brought 22 students to help at the triathlon. Capt. Frank Anderson, the commanding officer, said everyone is very proud of PFC Morgan. ‘It’s great to see what Marines do – not leave anybody behind – is exemplified in our youngest members of our institution,’ he told iReport. ‘He’s not a very big guy … he picked that young boy up quick, threw him on his back and ran the rest of the course … We’re pumped.’
A larger image of this photo, and other photos of the finish line, can be see at CNN.
H/T The Blaze
