July 9, 2025 | Llano County, Texas — Decorated Marine veteran and Fox News contributor Johnny “Joey” Jones has never been one to back away from danger. But this week, during a volunteer rescue mission in the heart of Texas’ flood-stricken Hill Country, Jones found himself facing a new kind of battle — one that didn’t come from bullets, but from water itself.
Jones, who lost both legs above the knee during his service in Afghanistan, was helping coordinate rescues near a submerged residential block in Llano County when a group of trapped residents was spotted clinging to the remains of a collapsed porch. With no time to wait for another raft, Jones — wearing only his prosthetics and chest harness — entered the chest-high water himself, guiding responders toward the stranded group.
What he didn’t know: the waters were contaminated with fuel runoff, decaying waste, and untreated sewage — a toxic mix that had already sent several responders to the hospital.
“I felt it within minutes,” Jones later told first responders. “Like something was crawling up under the skin.”
Despite that, he pressed on, helping evacuate five elderly residents and two small children. But just 30 minutes later, after returning to base, his skin around both prosthetic stumps began to blister and burn. Medical teams described his condition as acute chemical dermatitis, likely caused by prolonged contact with high-toxicity floodwater.
“He kept scratching his legs like he had fire ants under the skin,” said one medic. “But he wouldn’t sit down. He just kept saying, ‘There’s still more people out there.’”
Photos from the scene show Jones with red, inflamed skin near the prosthetic joints, surrounded by concerned volunteers and paramedics. Despite the intense discomfort, he refused to be evacuated — instead asking for topical treatment and returning to assist with coordination efforts from higher ground.
The story has now gone viral under the hashtag #JoeyDidItAnyway, with fans, veterans, and flood victims calling him a “walking definition of sacrifice.”
One flood survivor tweeted:
“I don’t care what side of politics you’re on — that man walked into poison water with no legs to save strangers. That’s America.”
Fox News has confirmed that Jones is receiving ongoing treatment but remains on-site in Texas, continuing to assist in recovery and morale support efforts.
When asked why he did it, Jones simply said:
“I’ve been through worse. And if walking through that mess means someone else sees tomorrow, I’ll do it again.”
In a week filled with loss, chaos, and heartbreak, Johnny Joey Jones’ grit, pain — and sheer refusal to quit — became the story Texas didn’t expect, but desperately needed.