In 2002, Staff Sergeant Tim Chambers marched into the middle of the road

and “popped up a salute” to thank the thousands of veterans rumbling down the road on their motorcycles at the Memorial Day Rolling Thunder event.

Since, the man – known as “The Saluting Marine” – became a main attraction at the annual parade held in Washington, DC, holding an excruciating hours-long salute to honor fallen soldiers.

Sharing a photo of the moment on Facebook, the saluting soldier writes, “Prayers are private he displayed the courage to walk out in front of millions to practice his own faith I had to reinforce his courage and kneel down with him (sic).”

After saluting Chambers and the fallen soldiers, she then placed a red rose by the memorial, prompting an eruption of cheers from parade goers.

The clip, seen by 6.2 million people since it was first posted on YouTube, captured the hearts of people praising her patriotism.

“That woman made me so proud to be an American because I lost two brothers to the war,” writes one online user. A second shares, “She made me cry, I’m so proud to be an American. God bless all our fallen warriors and God bless America.”