In July of 2006, Israeli sergeant Ram Boneh was wounded in fierce battles between Hezbollah guerrillas and the Israel Defense Force in the Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, near Israel’s border. He was later taken to a hospital in Haifa to treat his shrapnel wounds. “All hell broke loose,” he explains. “There were RPGs [rocket-propelled grenades], rifles, hand grenades, from every window and house. We were trapped by at least eight positions around us.”

He saw many acts of courage during the rescue operation to retrieve the casualties, which took place under heavy enemy fire. “Soldiers went in to get their friends. They didn’t think a bullet could hit them.”

22-year-old Ram Boneh healed so beautifully that he was booked by New York modeling agency Request Model Management and worked for Kenneth Cole in 2008.

New York-based photographer Samuel Zakuto sent us these pictures of a recent shoot he made in Israel with Ram. He titled it “Wounded Soldier”, and it’s definitely the real deal.

Samuel Zakuto’s web site
Samuel Zakuto’s blog
Request Model Management