David Eubank, a former U.S. Special Forces operative turned aid worker, is being hailed a hero after video of his dramatic rescue of a little girl in war-torn Mosul went viral on social media.

Eubank grew up in Texas and enlisted in the military at 18, eventually becoming the leader of a free fall team with the First Special Forces Group. But after a decade of serving, he decided to leave the military in 1992 to have “the freedom to go where God was leading.”

On a recent mission, the 56-year-old was making his way through Mosul with his volunteer services organization, the Free Burma Rangers, and Iraqi troops when they came across a frightful, yet all too familiar sight.

“There was a woman sprawled on her face. Dead,” Eubank said. “A baby, all shot up. Dead. Near them, two old people. Dead. And then you realize all those lumps of rags were kids. Dead, dead, dead.”

The LA Times reports:

Then, in the distance, Eubank noticed movement among a group of corpses clustered before a wall pocked by bullets: A half-naked toddler stumbled over the bodies; a girl of about 5 peeked from under the hijab of her dead mother; propped up against the wall, a wounded man waved for help.

The sniper fire continued, and the survivors were 150 yards away. Eubank and some Iraqi troops quickly came up with a plan: Eubank would try to rescue the girl.

“I thought, ‘If I die doing this, my wife and kids would understand,’” Eubank said.

“I believe God sent me here, and I don’t think about security,” Eubank said.

Although Eubank and his family are currently back in the United States, David is already planning his next mission in the Middle East.