Chris Mintz, the Army veteran who was shot while protecting his classroom from a deranged gunman, is awake and recovering after surgeons removed all the bullets from his body. While there is no lasting damage, Mintz broke both of his legs during the altercation. Family members say this hero will have to learn how to walk again.

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This veteran’s day started with a positive Facebook post celebrating the birthday of his son, Tyrik. Hours later, Mintz came face to face with Chris Harper Mercer outside his classroom. Mintz charged Mercer to keep him out of the room, and was shot twice. After telling Mercer that it was his son’s birthday, Mintz was shot again.

While Mintz lay wounded, a certified nurse in his classroom tended to his wounds. She performed CPR on the veteran and prayed with him until paramedics arrived.

Mintz, 30, joined the Army shortly after graduating high school. He served in the Army for 10 years and saw combat in Afghanistan. Stateside, his hobbies included cage-fighting, wrestling, mixed martial arts and working at the local YMCA. He enrolled in UCC to become a fitness trainer.

The gunman’s blog suggests that he planned the shooting in order to gain nationwide fame. Instead of talking about him, let’s instead talk about Mintz’ heroism and long road to recovery.

As the Daily Beast put it, “Forget the zeroes, remember the heroes.”