Disabled Army veteran tells 5-year-old why she is his hero (VIDEO)

And the conversation between Simon Brown and little Temperance Pattinson is heartbreakingly sweet.

Simon Brown was a soldier in the Army for 13 years before a shot from a sniper took his eyesight while he was on a rescue mission. Now, in a video by The Sun, he’s sitting down with 5-year-old Temperance Pattinson to thank her for participating in a fundraising triathlon for injured veterans.

After sharing the story of how he was injured, Simon asks Temperance, “Can you tell me why you swam 100 meters and did the triathlon?”

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“I just thought that [the soldiers] did something for us,” she says. “I thought I could give a present back to them.” Temperance shares that she was quite nervous doing the triathlon because she was scared to ride a bike, but she explains simply: she challenges herself because the soldiers challenge themselves.

“I had to rebuild my life,” Simon explains to her, “and it’s because of the challenges that you do and the money you raise that people like me can get better. And that’s why people like you are our heroes.”

Grinning, Temperance responds, “And people like you are mine!”

Watch the full conversation below.