Jason Whitehorse, a Navajo Nation soldier who was injured in Iraq, was welcomed home on Thursday.

Whitehorse, 19, a private first class in the U.S. Army, will receive two Purple Hearts for his service. He is still on crutches due to injuries sustained in an explosion on March 27.

“He told me that he always wanted to face a challenge and he said he got it," his mother, Lorene Yazzie, told The Gallup Independent. “I feel very happy that he's home safe and I hope he doesn't have to go back again."

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A hero’s welcome for Whitehorse (The Gallup Independent 5/17)