Caitlyn Jenner

After a Salem man posted his thoughts about Caitlyn Jenner, his post was shared 775,000 times.

The night after the Olympian formerly known as Bruce came out as Caitlyn Jenner, a Salem man decided to share his thoughts. Terry Coffey chose a photograph that seemed to show two men in a warzone. One shoots in the distance while the other holds his fellow soldier up.



"As I see post after post about Bruce Jenner's transition to a woman, and I hear words like, bravery, heroism, and courage, just thought I'd remind all of us what real American courage, heroism, and bravery looks like!" Coffey wrote on Facebook.



People agreed with him. People he didn't even know. More than 778,000 people shared Coffey's photo, including a 1.4 million-member Facebook group aimed at boycotting the A&E channel until it allows Phil Robertson back on Duck Dynasty. Robertson was temporarily suspended from the show, which is filmed in West Monroe, Louisiana, after making negative comments about homosexuality and race relations.



Coffey, who attended high school in Louisiana before moving to Oregon, first thought there must have been a computer glitch. Thousands of people wanted to be his Facebook friend.

I'm a little confused. Having a hard time believing what I'm seeing. Is there some kind of Facebook bug? It shows that... Posted by Terry Coffey on Tuesday, June 2, 2015





After so much attention, Coffey decided to do a little more research, he wrote. He had chosen the image randomly and quickly.



"Just wanted something to fit my words," he wrote on Facebook.



Tuesday, he found the picture's origin. An "ironic twist," he called it. To say the least.



The image is a still from a 2010 documentary called Marwencol. The film tells the story of photographer Mark Hogancamp, a New York man who was attacked and beaten outside a bar in 2000. Hogancamp spent nine days in a coma and 40 days in the hospital.



Unable to afford therapy, Hogancamp began building a World War II era town in his yard. He created dolls, too, and used them to act out imaginary battles between himself and his attackers. The image Coffey shared is one Hogancamp photographed of his dolls.



"Why was he nearly beaten to death by five strangers?" Coffey wrote online Tuesday.



"Because he was a cross-dresser."



Coffey said he could have chosen any photo depicting bravery. He did not believe it was an accident that he chose Hogancamp's.



"What happened to this man was cruel, wrong, and unforgivable," Coffey said. "Hate helps nothing. Love wounds no one, and God heals all."



Only 351 people have shared his update.

The photo that accompanied my words yesterday to highlight "true bravery," was chosen from a quick image search. Just... Posted by Terry Coffey on Tuesday, June 2, 2015

-- Casey Parks

503-221-8271

cparks@oregonian.com; @caseyparks