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In the News

Wounded warriors bond at Walter Reed

In Capt. Erik Johnson, Army Sgt. Monte Bernardo found both an occupational therapist, a counselor and, ultimately, a friend.

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Dec. 12, 2012

Stella Shafer and her brother, Army Sgt. Monte Bernardo, are very close and frequently share laughter and good times together at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Bernardo exercises his upper body at Walter Reed. Bernardo lost both legs and his left hand in an IED blast in Afghanistan on July 4.

Dec. 12, 2012

Bernardo exercises his upper body at Walter Reed. Bernardo lost both legs and his left hand in an IED blast in Afghanistan on July 4.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Bernardo takes a brief break between exercises at the Walter Reed medical center.

Dec. 12, 2012

Bernardo takes a brief break between exercises at the Walter Reed medical center.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Bernardo has been recovering at Walter Reed for five months.

Dec. 12, 2012

Bernardo has been recovering at Walter Reed for five months.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Army Capt. Erik Johnson, an occupational therapist. Johnson, left, the lead amputee occupational therapist at Walter Reed, monitors the progress of wounded warriors like Bernardo, who is making breakfast. Johnson pulls on his own experiences of recovering from severe burns following a car accident to help him relate to his patients.

Nov. 30, 2012

Army Capt. Erik Johnson, an occupational therapist. Johnson, left, the lead amputee occupational therapist at Walter Reed, monitors the progress of wounded warriors like Bernardo, who is making breakfast. Johnson pulls on his own experiences of recovering from severe burns following a car accident to help him relate to his patients.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Amid thousands of encounters between soldiers and caregivers at Walter Reed in recent years, Johnson and Bernardo have formed a unique friendship.

Nov. 25, 2012

Amid thousands of encounters between soldiers and caregivers at Walter Reed in recent years, Johnson and Bernardo have formed a unique friendship.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Johnson and Bernardo wrestle at the Walter Reed facility. The men they have bonded over Bernardo’s wounds — both focused for months on the mechanics, physiology, and psychology of his recovery, both engaged in a careful dialog between patient and therapist, both with their own disfiguring injuries.

Dec. 13, 2012

Johnson and Bernardo wrestle at the Walter Reed facility. The men they have bonded over Bernardo’s wounds — both focused for months on the mechanics, physiology, and psychology of his recovery, both engaged in a careful dialog between patient and therapist, both with their own disfiguring injuries.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Bernardo spends a couple of hours shopping for a few items at a Target store in Rockville. Bernardo, a sergeant in the 82nd Airborne Division, was serving his second tour of duty in Afghanistan when he was critically injured by an IED on July 4.

Dec. 12, 2012

Bernardo spends a couple of hours shopping for a few items at a Target store in Rockville. Bernardo, a sergeant in the 82nd Airborne Division, was serving his second tour of duty in Afghanistan when he was critically injured by an IED on July 4.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Bernardo’s sister, Stella Shafer, shows a nutcracker dressed in military fatigues, missing it's left arm, to Johnson and Bernardo at the Target in Rockville.

Dec. 12, 2012

Bernardo’s sister, Stella Shafer, shows a nutcracker dressed in military fatigues, missing it's left arm, to Johnson and Bernardo at the Target in Rockville.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Bernardo prepares breakfast for his sister and his girlfriend, Amanda Simmons, right, at Walter Reed. Bernardo has improved so rapidly he hopes to be out of Walter Reed by the summer and then start college.

Nov. 29, 2012

Bernardo prepares breakfast for his sister and his girlfriend, Amanda Simmons, right, at Walter Reed. Bernardo has improved so rapidly he hopes to be out of Walter Reed by the summer and then start college.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Bernardo and his girlfriend stare to see how far the golf ball traveled across a field at the Walter Reed.

Dec. 13, 2012

Bernardo and his girlfriend stare to see how far the golf ball traveled across a field at the Walter Reed.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Bernardo and Simmons kiss goodbye before he heads back to the prosthetics department at the Walter Reed.

Dec. 13, 2012

Bernardo and Simmons kiss goodbye before he heads back to the prosthetics department at the Walter Reed.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

FEATURED PHOTO GALLERIES

A police forensics officer investigates a crime scene where one man was killed in Woolwich, southeast London May 22, 2013. British Prime Minister David Cameron has called a meeting of his government's emergency Cobra security committee after the killing of a man in south London, his office said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth (BRITAIN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Terrorism cited in London cleaver attack

Two assailants hacked to death a man reported to be a British soldier on a busy East London street Wednesday afternoon before delivering an pparent...

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 21: Statues on display on the Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden in The Great Pavilion at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show on May 21, 2013 in London, England. The Chelsea Flower Show run by the RHS celebrates its 100th birthday this year. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Photos of the day

Chelsea Flower Show, face transplant in Poland, Oklahoma residents cope with tornado aftermath and more.

ANNAPOLIS, MD - MAY 20: The Herndon Monument Climb is the traditional culmination of plebe year at the United States Naval Academy. The plebes climb to the top of the lard-covered 21 foot high monument and remove the 'dixie cup' hat at the top replacing it with an upperclassman's hat. After completing this, the freshmen are called 'fourth class midshipmen.' This class completed the task in 1 hour 32 minutes and 43 seconds. The hat was placed by Patrick Lien from Orlando. (Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

The Herndon Climb

The Herndon Monument climb is the traditional culmination of plebe year at the U.S. Naval Academy.

Lea Bessinger salvages a picture of Jesus as she and her son Josh Bessinger sort through the rubble of the elder Bessinger's tornado-ravaged home Tuesday, May 21, 2013, in Moore, Okla. A huge tornado roared through the Oklahoma City suburb Monday, flattening an entire neighborhoods and destroying an elementary school with a direct blow as children and teachers huddled against winds. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Tornado near Oklahoma City causes more damage

Rescue workers are searching for survivors after a twister carved a long path of destruction in a suburb of Oklahoma City. It was part of the...

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 21: Ken Marino, Erica Oyama, Ben Stiller, Chris Harrison, and Mike Rosenstein aceept the Webby Award for 'Burning Love' at the 17th Annual Webby Awards at Cipriani Wall Street on May 21, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for The Webby Awards)

Eye on entertainment

Ben Stiller, Jerry Seinfeld, Emma Stone, 2 Chainz, Tyrese Gibson, Susan Boyle and more.

This combination of Associated Press photos shows left, a neighborhood in Moore, Okla., in ruins on Tuesday, May 4, 1999, after a tornado flattened many houses and buildings in central Oklahoma, and right, flattened houses in Moore on Monday, May 20, 2013. Monday's powerful tornado in suburban Oklahoma City loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the region in May 1999. (AP Photo)

Okla. tornado loosely followed path of 1999 twister

Monday’s powerful tornado in suburban Oklahoma City loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the area in May 1999.

A Burrowing owl tries to perch on a protective rope in a public park in Cooper City, Fla. Monday, May 20, 2013 as rain falls. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

Fun and fascinating creatures around the world.

A man walks on sulphur and mineral salt formations near Dallol in the Danakil Depression, northern Ethiopia April 22, 2013. The Danakil Depression in Ethiopia is one of the hottest and harshest environments on earth, with an average annual temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit (34.4 Celsius). For centuries, merchants have travelled there with caravans of camels to collect salt from the surface of the vast desert basin. The mineral is extracted and shaped into slabs, then loaded onto the animals before being transported back across the desert so that it can be sold around the country. Picture taken April 22, 2013. REUTERS/Siegfried Modola (ETHIOPIA - Tags: BUSINESS SOCIETY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

ATTENTION EDITORS: PICTURE 2 OF 30 FOR PACKAGE 'ETHIOPIA'S ANCIENT SALT TRAIL'
SEARCH 'DANAKIL DEPRESSION' FOR ALL

Ethiopia’s salt trail

For centuries, merchants have traveled to Ethiopia’s Danakil Depression with caravans of camels to collect salt from the surface of the vast desert basin. The mineral is extracted...

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