"Miracle" Marine Loses Final Battle

Merlin German, Who Survived A 2005 Roadside Bomb Attack In Iraq, Died After Routine Surgery

(AP)  The young Marine came back from the war, with his toughest fight ahead of him.

Merlin German waged that battle in the quiet of a Texas hospital, far from the dusty road in Iraq where a bomb exploded, leaving him with burns over 97 percent of his body.

No one expected him to survive.

But for more than three years, he would not surrender. He endured more than 100 surgeries and procedures. 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."

But just when it seemed he would defy impossible odds, Sgt. Merlin German lost his last battle this spring - an unexpected final chapter in a story many imagined would have a happy ending.

"I think all of us had believed in some way, shape or form that he was invincible," says Lt. Col. Evan Renz, who was German's surgeon and his friend. "He had beaten so many other operations. ... It just reminded us, he, too, was human."

It was near Ramadi, Iraq, on Feb. 21, 2005, that the roadside bomb detonated near German's Humvee, hurling him out of the turret and engulfing him in flames.

When Renz and other doctors at the burn unit at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio first got word from Baghdad, they told his family he really didn't have a chance. The goal: Get him back to America so his loved ones could say goodbye.

But when German arrived four days later, doctors, amazed by how well he was doing, switched gears. "We were going to do everything known to science," Renz says. "He was showing us he can survive."

Doctors removed his burn wounds and covered him with artificial and cadaver skin. They also harvested small pieces of German's healthy skin, shipping them off to a lab where they were grown and sent back.

Doctors took skin from the few places he wasn't burned: the soles of his feet, the top of his head and small spots on his abdomen and left shoulder.

Once those areas healed, doctors repeated the task. Again and again.

"Sometimes I do think I can't do it," German said last year in an Associated Press interview. "Then I think: Why not? I can do whatever I want."

Renz witnessed his patient's good and bad days.

"Early on, he thought, 'This is ridiculous. Why am I doing this? Why am I working so hard?"' Renz recalls. "But every month or so, he'd say, 'I've licked it.' ... He was amazingly positive overall. ... He never complained. He'd just dig in and do it."

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.

From being confined to a hospital isolation bed with his arms and legs suspended - so his skin grafts would take - to moving into his own house and sleeping in his own bed.

Sometimes his repeated surgeries laid him up for days and he'd lose ground in his rehabilitation. But he'd always rebound. Even when he was hurting, he'd return to therapy - as long as he had his morning Red Bull energy drink.

"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.

That despite the constant reminders that he'd never be the same. The physical fitness buff who could run miles and do dozens of push-ups struggled, at first, just to sit up on the edge of his bed. The one-time saxophone player had lost his fingers. The Marine with the lady-killer smile now had a raw, ripple-scarred face.

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."

His mother, Lourdes, remembers her son another way: "He was never really scared of anything."

That toughness, says his brother, Ariel, showed up even when they were kids growing up in New York. Playing football, Merlin would announce: "Give me the ball. Nobody can knock me down."

[toolmangler-2009]

pity pity pity sick and *** tired of hearing it when raise your hand take the oath what the hell did you think you were signing up for a flucking pinic or were you there for the college plan?
Posted by tootall10142 at 10:32 AM : May 26, 2008



This was never about why he joined, This was about what kind of person he was when it mattered most. Look at what he went through when he could have done what the majority of you would and just ''quit''. I am not trying to make a ''hero'' of him, He did that himself. You may minimize his price by cheapening his fight, But theres not a mothers child among you that would volunteer to take his pain from him if you could have and spared him the suffering. One man did but you don''t care and would never acknowledge it if you knew. If you can''t thank him for anything then keep your mouth shut and don''t dishonor him.

[apprxam]

I''d like it if the United States became a bit more isolationist and unfortunately, the thought of such is deemed anti-semetic, but I don''t care. American men and women in Iraq die not Israeli soldiers. Like SharnCedar said, the poor, not the rich fight who gather at Memorials presided over by an AWOL president with no sense of true service to country or that of the men and women like Sgt. Germain.

After, he meets up with college football coaches who claims the 40-50 military people they met exhibit nothing but optimistic service and represent every service-member outside of their five senses. That''s right, coach Weiss, no soldier hates this war and the liars that sent them there. They fight, they serve but no one serves them.

[apprxam]

Why so late, CBS? This Marine died weeks ago.

[sharncedar]

Don''t ever say we who hate war lack compassion. I would end wars, except for the land defense of the US. I would have seen this man living a gentle life as a farmer or own his own store his own business (may the bankers who steal property from Americans rot in HELL). I would see him a nuturing man, gentle to his children, strong and sure with his business, his store, his farm. And alive. Never having learned to be a killer other than weeds.

This was the wrong "sacrifice". The good should not be dying, rather the evil, the Cheneys, the cowards, the killers. Let them be tried, let them be convicted, let them be removed from history.

Someday we must be a country that owns itself, that rules itself, that is not ruled by the killers in NYC or AIPAC. Pray for our freedom. Let the word "freedom" mean what it is meant to mean -freedom from those who export jobs, freedom from those who send our children to die for their wealth and their international deals. Do you want freedom? Do you want honour? Then serve America. Fight her enemies.

Dying as a slave for Cheney is not honour.

[sharncedar]

How do you think the Jews of AIPAC who have u fighting their war in Iraq for them feel about all that sacrifice and committment and bravery? They are laughing on the graves, dancing on your graves.

Ther military is a dangerous, evil cult that worships death and destruction, and serves nobody and nothing but the richest and AIPAC who sit atop the cult, singing the national anthem while real Americans march and die. And they rake in the cash, bang your girlfriends, vacation in Miami, and spit on your "service". It''s a scam, dude. It''s no better than M13 or any other gang/cult. The footsoldiers do all the dying, the leaders do all the getting rich and laid.

[sharncedar]

armydog2 : You all owe him a debt of gratitude for his Service. Rest in Peace Sgt., I am thanful for you honor, bravery and sacrifice.

Great armydog2. If it were such a fine and noble thing, why don''t the rich "serve"? Why don''t their kids, fresh from their privileged ivy-league schools choose a career of such honour and bravery, instead of lucrative investment banking jobs? Why don''t the kids of rich defense contractors, those who profit from the "honour" and "service" and death and mutilation "serve"? Why don''t ex-congressmen like shame Cheney join up to serve for that great honour instead of joining billion dollar defense contracting firms?

There is no honour in dying like a dog for slavery. There is no honour in being used and corrupted so all the good in you turns to violence in the service of some fat, lazy rich man who laughs over your grave.

Ever talked to a banker, the guys behind the wars? Ever seen the utter contempt they have for you, the cannon fodder, the losers who die to make them rich?

It would change the direction you point your gun.

[fstop100]

Very sad, and what did we gain from the 4000+ deaths from this war?
4.00 aq gallon oil?
G.W. and Cheney I hope you see his photo when you close your eyes at night.

[armydog2]

How sad this brave young man suffered so much and is truly an American Hero! How sad that some fools posting on these boards have no compassion or empathy for human suffering,what a waste of space you are for not seeing what this young man went through. You all owe him a debt of gratitude for his Service.
Rest in Peace Sgt., I am thanful for you honor, bravery and sacrifice.

[patriot12436]

tootall10142
Your th one we are always talking about. Have an opinion, always kicking up dirt on someone who doesn'' deserrve it and know nothing about what you are talking. Your comment shows you have never been in combat, probably nevr in the service, no compassion and no brains. Do you show up at wakes yo get a laugh ?

[tootall10142]

pity pity pity sick and *** tired of hearing it when raise your hand take the oath what the hell did you think you were signing up for a flucking pinic or were you there for the college plan?

[cloudlifter]

WhatIThink,

Very well expressed. I totally agree and would''ve added so, had I not run out of characters! ;-) So glad you got it in after my epistle. Thanks!

[whatithink-2009]

Cloudlifter,

Well, I think those three kinds of people can be found in one person. I feel sorry for what happened to this young man - just 22. However, I''ve seen enough rotten cops in my life to know they can be a predator as quickly as a protector. We are all humans with both good and bad traits in each and every one of us.

[cloudlifter]

RIP, Sgt. Merlin German, USMC. American Hero.
Sincerest Condolences to his Family and Friends.

This earth is populated with three kinds of human beings; gentle people, predators and protectors. The soldiers, fire-fighters and police are the warrior- kind; passionate in their love of the more peaceful members who make life worth living, they are fierce fighters against the wolves who would prey upon them. To ensure the safety and liberty of those they love, these warriors sacrifice their own freedom for strict policies of protocol and discipline, hone their skills for battle and go forth into danger with confidence and purpose. They are the sheepdogs, the wolfhounds and will watch over the herd, rescue the injured, find and return the lost, nudge the wanderers home and protect the flock against wolves and wolves in sheep''s clothing. So, lock and load or duck and cover - whatever you are inclined to do - but, get out of the dog''s way when the wolves attack!

We all, with our various temperaments, have purpose and give purpose to one another. We do not have to get along. This is not heaven. This is another battlefield.
This site, with all its pain, is a memorial to
Sgt. Merlin German, USMC. Protector, Wolfhound, Hero, Rescuer, Fighter, Warrior, Inspiration. Semper Fi

[patriot12436]

jadedjerk
Just read your comment from another website. So you claim you were maintenance support, i still doubt your even a vet, but if you are a vet you were not in combat so you have no idea what combat veterans endure. You talk about my insulting others, you insulted me before i had even heard of you so get your story straigth. ou can talk *** on here but you can''t do it to a combat vet face to face.

[patriot12436]

jadedjerk
And which lie do you think i bought into ? I got my eyes opened in Vietnam and haven''t believed in wart untill 9/11. I do believe we were right in going into Afghanastan, but i have always opposed the war in Iraq. I also oppose jerks like you who think they know everythig and everyone who disagrees with you is wrong. I put my life on the line you did''t so take a flying leap and don''t coem back.

[patriot12436]

Most of us who have served in combat do not believe that someoe who hasn''t can understand how we feel, the faith we put in signing up and pledging to serve wherever, regardless of our personal feelings. The feeling that we do it to serve our coutry and make it so everyone at home can rest easy knowing we are protecting their freedom as well as our own.

[patriot12436]

gce65
He was a hero and a victim. He helped many other wounded sldiers deal with their situatins and wounds. His inspiration alone made him a hero. Have you ever been to a hospital where wounded are treated/ It will be an eye opening experience if you ever go.

[patriot12436]

fortiethtry
Why should me not be commending volunteers for thsi war ? I believe the war is wrong but this man volunteered to serve his country. You and noone else can take that away from this man. He took an oath and he kept his word. This is a man of honor.

[patriot12436]

sbcarlosm
Have you looked in a mirror laely ? This man was a miracle to b alive with burns on 97% of his body. I am sure an infection or a reaction to a medication is what caused his death.

[jaded_jerk]

Miracle marine,cute.Charbroiled chump would be more fitting though.Anybody that would go fight a war for the money grubbing soulless monsters running this country is a fool.

He had a choice.People called Muhammad Ali a coward when he made his choice.He is now celebrated worldwide not only for his boxing prowess,but as a man that stood by his convictions inspite of the consequences.Yes,Sgt.German was a pawn,but he did have a choice.He was brave.Sadly,he wasted his life for a country that didn''''t merit his bravery.He cast his pearls before swine.