Marine smiles after IED blast

US Marine Gunnery Sergeant Brian Meyer had just lost a leg and a hand, and blood was smeared across his face — but he was determined to smile.

As battlefield medics treated the 29-year-old bomb technician for his injuries, sustained when a device he was defusing exploded prematurely, Sgt Meyer ordered a member of his squad to take a photo, the MailOnline reports.

He wanted to keep his comrades' spirits up so he forced a smile through the pain and gave a thumbs-up gesture.

Sgt Meyer is among nearly 2000 US troops who lost one or more limbs from combat injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan and who are now pushing military medicine to find better ways to help them rebuild their lives and maintain an active lifestyle.

He is about to participate in a six-year US Naval Health Research Center study on injured veterans and their quality of life.

Sgt Meyer was hospitalised for a month after the 2011 bomb blast in Afghanistan and, after multiple surgeries and laser treatment, was outfitted for prosthetics and learned to walk again.