Sgt. Merlin German
“Miracle Man”
Sgt. Merlin German nearly died in a roadside bombing, while serving in Iraq in 2005. German suffered severe burns over most of his body and no one expected him to survive but he bravely battled back and was awarded the Purple Heart.
He endured more than 100 surgeries and procedures over a three year period. He learned to live with pain, to stare at a stranger’s face in the mirror. He learned to smile again, to joke, to make others laugh. He became known as the “Miracle Man”.
“Sometimes I do think I can’t do it,” German said in an Associated Press interview. “Then I think: Why not? I can do whatever I want.” Slowly his determination paid off. He made enormous progress. From a ventilator to breathing on his own, from communicating with his eyes or a nod to talking.
“I can’t remember a time where he said, ‘I can’t do it. I’m not going to try,’ ” says Sgt. Shane Elder, a rehabilitation therapy assistant.
Lt. Col. Grant Olbrich recalls a day in 2006 when he stopped by German’s room and noticed he was crying softly. Olbrich, who heads a Marine patient affairs team at Brooke, says he sat with him awhile and asked: “What are you scared of?” He said, “I’m afraid there will never be a woman who loves me.”
Olbrich says that was the lowest he ever saw German, but even then “he didn’t give up. … He was unstoppable.”
At Brooke Army Medical Cente Merlin designed a T-shirt that he often gave away. On the front it read: “Got 3% chance of survival, what ya gonna do?” The back read, “A) Fight Through, b) Stay Strong, c) Overcome Because I Am a Warrior, d) All Of The Above.” D is circled.
When the hospital’s Holiday Ball approached in 2006, German decided he wanted to surprise his mother by taking her for a twirl on the dance floor.
Poeple around him thought he was kidding. They knew it could be agony for him just to take a short walk or raise a scarred arm.
He got help rehearsing for months, without his mother knowing. He chose a love song to be played for the dance: “Have I told you lately?” by Rod Stewart.
That night he donned his Marine dress blues and shiny black shoes — even though it hurt to wear them. When the time came, he took his mother in his arms and they glided across the dance floor.
Sadly Marlin German died after routine surgery to add skin under his lower lip. He was just 22.
Before his death however he set up a foundation for burned children called Merlin’s Miracles to raise money so these kids could enjoy life, whether it was getting an air conditioner for their home or taking a trip to Disney World, a place he loved.
On a sunny April afternoon, German was buried among the giant oaks and Spanish moss of Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell. The chaplain remembered German as an indomitable Marine who never gave in to the enemy — or to his pain.
Sgt. Merlin German JUST DO IT ANYWAY.
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