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ABC News' Steven PortnoyA picture of a sleeping soldier cradling an injured Iraqi girl is worth a thousand words about the healing power of human touch.
One night, at Balad Air Base, an airman snapped a picture of Chief Master Sgt. John Gebhardt, asleep in a hospital hallway. In his arms, a little Iraqi girl.
Chief Master Sgt. John Gebhardt: "Her head injury was quite horrific."
Insurgents killed her parents and shot her in the head. She'd stop crying, they say, when Chief Gebhardt held her in his arms
Chief Master Sgt. John Gebhardt: "I'm sure that probably just gave her some inner peace that she could reach."
Back in Kansas, Gebhardt says he's happy the Air Force publicized the picture. But he says the real good is done by the hospital staff
Chief Master Sgt. John Gebhardt: "I'm a better person for the time I spent over there with those people."
