Army vet's last act of heroism honored on way to death
FORT WORTH, Texas - A local Army veteran's last act of heroism was recorded on cell phone video during the final moments of his life.
Staff Sergeant Matthew Whalen recently suffered a massive and sudden stroke, reports CBS Dallas.
His family made the tough decision to take him off life support so that his organs could be donated to two other military veterans.
As Whalen was wheeled out of his hospital room an impromptu honor guard ceremony took place in the halls of Plaza Fort Worth Medical Center.
Service members current and past stood at attention as doctors and nurses rolled the 35-year-old into an operation room for the organ donation procedure.
His wife Hannah Gradisar can be seen in the video saying her final good bye.
She described that moment saying, "That's what Matt deserved. He was a four time combat veteran. He was an exceptionally loving dad...that ceremony that they did he deserved that recognition."
Within the first 24 hours of the video being posted it was seen nearly 4 million times.