Veterans Day with Medal of Honor recipient @chiksdigscars

To see more of Kyle’s life after war, follow @chiksdigscars, and to see more veterans’ stories, browse the hashtag #EverydayUSAVets

“I understand that what we have in this country is precious, and people sacrificed, bled and died for that,” says Kyle Carpenter (@chiksdigscars), the youngest living recipient of the Medal of Honor. As a 20-year-old US Marine deployed to Afghanistan, Kyle used his own body to shield a fellow Marine from a grenade blast. He barely survived and spent the next three years recovering from catastrophic injuries.

On Instagram, he shares his life of resilience with glimpses of marathon running, skydiving and cliff jumping, and he offers a message to his followers:

“You can get hurt or have a life-changing event and still work hard, be positive, enjoy life and most of all, come out better than you ever expected or thought you could.”

Now retired from the military, Kyle is pursuing a degree in International Studies at the University of South Carolina.