A marine named Myles Kerr dropped back during a 5K race to help encourage a 9-year old boy to cross the finish line, captured in a photograph that has now gone viral, the Daily Mail reports.
Nineteen-year old Lance Corporal Myles Kerr was competing in the annual run in his hometown of Charlevoix, Michigan when he spotted the boy, Boden Fuchs, struggling to keep up. Fuchs reportedly asked Kerr, "Sir, will you please run with me?" after falling behind from the group he started the race with.
After following his fellow marines at full-speed during most of the race, Kerr did indeed slow down to encourage and run with Fuchs, finishing five seconds behind the boy at 34.53 minutes, a long way behind his friends. Facebook users who saw the picture of Kerr running in his fatigues beside the boy called him a "hero" and and a "role model," the image already garnering over 200,000 likes.
Now a local celebrity for his good deed, Kerr has been interviewed by radio stations and newspapers, and to award him for his act of kindness, Fuchs' parents bought him a $100 voucher for a local restaurant as a means of gratitude.
"I was just doing what any man would do, but thank you!," Kerr said on Twitter in response to praise from one adoring fan.
@Radiocartman I was just doing what any man would do, but thank you!
— Myles M. Kerr (@Myles_Kerr) July 31, 2013
The parents of the little boy I ran with gave me $100 gift card to Grey Gables Restaurant #godbless — Myles M. Kerr (@Myles_Kerr) July 31, 2013
According to his Twitter feed, Lance Corporal Myles Kerr, who was at home on leave, will return to work on Monday. "You were only as great as the person you were yesterday," he recently tweeted.
Click here to see another photo of Lance Corporal Myles Kerr after he had completed the 5K race.
