SCRANTON -- Millions of people have now seen a viral video that came from the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday. It featured a veteran from Lackawanna County carrying his friend over the finish line.
Earl Granville lost a leg while serving in Afghanistan but it has never stopped him. He completed several marathons, including Boston three other times, but usually on a hand bike made for people with disabilities. This is the first time he has ever run a marathon. He made it count by sending a message.
The past few days have been a whirlwind for wounded warrior Earl Granville from Carbondale. He was honored at the Lackawanna County commissioners meeting Wednesday with a photo of his picture-perfect finish at the Boston Marathon.
Here he is on Monday broadcasting on Facebook live from mile 16:
Ten miles later, he did much more than walk. Even though he struggled on his prosthetic leg, he picked up his running partner Andi Piscipo and carried her.
"The crowd and the energy and it just moves you," said Granville. "It's so indescribable. It's just amazing. We just start booking it down right to the finish line and right before we hit the finish line, I think just to add a little flavor, I said, 'Let me buddy carry you, Andi.' I carried her, and she's holding the colors up. I didn't think it would turn into something like this."
Since Monday, the video of Granville's finish has gone viral. He's talked to national media, running magazines, and veterans groups. He's long been an advocate for Wounded Warriors and soldiers with PTSD.
In the military, they call it a "buddy carry," a method for carrying wounded soldiers from danger. Granville says this has a message for vets and for everyone who has seen it.
"Even if it's just a feel-good moment of what we did at the Boston Marathon, I mean, find stuff like that all the time. Instead of this angry, ticked-off society that we now are in at the moment, let's try to get something positive, look after each other, pick each other up and just know that we never have to carry that weight alone."