I have nothing but tears tonight. Three more service members -- Sgt. Merlin German, 22 of Manhattan, N.Y.; Staff Sgt. Clay A. Craig, 22, of Mesquite, Texas; and Staff Sgt. Bryan E. Bolander, 26, of Bakersfield, Calif. -- are lost to us and to all who knew and loved them.
Merlin German suffered burns over 97 percent of his body and was not expected to live. He underwent well over 100 operations, and healed enough not only to re-learn how to walk but also to dance with his mother.
Clay Craig would have been home in a few months.
Bryan Bolander would have been married on June 6 and his would-be best man will now be his pallbearer instead.
Please take a few minutes to get to know these men and to help us mourn their loss.
Sgt. Merlin German, 22 of Manhattan, N.Y. and of the 5th Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif. and of his parent unit, the 2nd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton.
Twenty-two years on earth. Four and a half of those years in the Marines. And just over three of those years were spent recovering from an IED explosion. As his family explains:
On 21 February 2005, Sergeant German's squad was on a mission to recon an unknown route from Jordan to Baghdad. While en route to Camp Ramadi, Sergeant German spotted an IED while standing in the turret at his Mk-19 machine gun. With no time to alert the driver, their HUMVEE was hit on a left side by a gas-fed shape charge explosive. Sergeant German was blown clear of the vehicle, and his fellow Marines helped extinguish the flames that had quickly burned 97% of his total body surface area.
Sergeant German was immediately transported to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany where doctors stated Sergeant German had NO chance of living. He had a quick turn-around flight to the burn unit at Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio and he arrived on 25 February 2005. He was cared for as an inpatient for 17 months, and then resided as a guest of the Fisher House before purchasing his own home in San Antonio.
He fought bravely for more than three years but died in the hospital on Friday, Apr. 11, while recovering from his most recent operation.
Those are the bare facts of German's life and death, but his story is bigger, sadder and infinitely more touching. He was a son of New York City, the child of immigrants from the Dominican Republic and a brother to seven siblings. He wasn't allowed to play with guns as a child and yet by the age of 11, German told one of his brothers, Ariel, that he wanted to be Marine when he grew up, says Newsday.
And he was a Marine all the way. From Newsday: "This kid was not going to go down easy," said Norma Guerra, the hospital's deputy chief of public affairs, who said German called her "his Texas mom." "He was a fighter. And he used to motivate everybody else."
(There's a wonderful story about what happened when German was presented with "Heading Home," a Thomas Kincade print that shows a soldier walking toward a sunbeam: "Corporal German returned the gift with one of his own - a shirt he made. The front: "Got 3% chance of surviving, what ya gonna do?" The back: "A) Fight Through, b) Stay Strong, c) Overcome Because I Am a Warrior, or d) All of the Above!" D is circled.")
One of his caregivers posts later in the same Patriot Guard thread:
Merlin German was one of my patients. During the last 2 years I have not met a man so courageous, strong, or cocky. MARINE. I have become close to his mother and father and am honored to have shared good and bad times with them all. What a beautiful and supporting mother. What a strong and humorous father. I will miss them all.
SGT German, Stand down, Rest in Peace. Your watch and pain are over. We have the watch.
Ama and Viejo. My heart aches and weeps. May the LORD Bless, keep and protect you. May HE cause HIS face to shine upon you and give you peace.
CPT Robert L. Flores
US Army Nurse Corps
He missed his high school reunion but his classmates at Woodlands High School in Westchester, N.Y. didn't forget him. The New York Daily News notes the the gym was full of pictures and memories:
School counselor Joe Foy...said, "We're here to honor Merlin's spirit and let everyone know we honor him for his service and legacy."
"Personally, in 17 years, I've never seen one student make such impact on the student body," said Foy, adding that German was known for his humor, confidence and an oddly endearing touch of arrogance.
"He didn't have a date for the senior prom," Foy said with a smile, "but he said it was okay because, 'I'll dance with someone else's date.' And you know, he didn't dance alone all night."
He wasn't supposed to live. He wasn't supposed to walk again. But he did. The Patriot Guard site has a post about a very special moment that the "miracle Man" experienced in 2006 at Brooke Hospital:
Last December, after months of practice so he could lift his arms, turn and pivot, he donned his Marine dress blues and hit the dance floor at Brooke's Holiday Ball.
He surprised his mother, taking her into his wounded arms, gliding smoothly across the room to a melody he chose -- a Rod Stewart song, "Have I Told You Lately That I Loved You?"
The crowd stood and applauded. And cried.
That picture -- oh God. If you can keep from crying, you're much stronger than I am.
A recipient of the Purple Heart, he is survived by his parents, Hemery and Lourdes German; his sisters, Marcia and Lawren; and his brothers, Ariel, Freddie, Johnny, Alejandro and Julio. The Patriot Guard rode in his honor on April 23 when he was buried in Bushnell, Fla. Merlin's Miracles, a foundation he helped establish, is accepting donations in order to assist child burn victims and their families.
On a personal note: As I was writing this, my little boy looked over at a picture of Merlin German's post-surgery face and asked who it was. I told him and he said, "I like him. Was he a good man?" Yes he was, honey. Yes he was.
I'll let Lt. Col. Grant Olbrich, officer in charge of BAMC's Marine patient affairs team, have the last word, a wonderful image of German as he may be now, "free of pain and the scars of war, guarding the streets of heaven ... And he's beautiful, and he's laughing."
Godspeed, Sgt. Merlin German.
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Staff Sgt. Clay A. Craig, 22, of Mesquite, Texas and of the 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
Small arms fire in Baghdad ended Staff Sgt.Craig's life on April 29. He was on his third tour of Iraq, having joined the Army after having graduated from John Horn High School, says cbs11.com.
(The Fort Hood site has several pictures of Craig on patrol.)
A CBS 11 News reporter talked with Craig's sister, Nita Edwards of McKinney, who remembered her brother this way:
"My brother deserves all the respect in the world, because he was doing his job and he didn't think twice about it."
There was one last indication that Craig received a message from his sister - something that comforts her today. "I was relieved that he viewed his MySpace [page] on the 29th, right before he went out on that mission," said Craig's sister, Nita Edwards of McKinney. "I got to tell him how much I missed him and loved him, right before his final mission."
He would have been home on leave in less than two months.
According to the (Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf-Chronicle, Craig is "survived by his wife, Cynthia, a daughter, Izabel, both of Clarksville; a father Roger Craig Jr., of Dallas, Texas; and a mother, Deborah Redfren, of Mt. Pleasant, Texas." Flags above Kentucky's state buildings are flying at half-staff in his memory and the Florida branch of the Patriot Guard will ride in his honor in Mesquite on May 9.
Godspeed, Staff Sgt. Clay A. Craig.
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Staff Sgt. Bryan E. Bolander, 26, of Bakersfield, Calif.and of the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
An IED in Baghdad took the life of Staff Sgt. Bryan Bolander, who was in his fourth tour of Iraq and his eighth year of Army service. The San Jacinto High School graduate enlisted in April 2000 and ""He went to every Army school he could. He was dedicated," his father, Greg Bolander of Virginia City, Nev. told the Reno Gazette-Journal. Said his mother, Brenda Bolander, also of Virginia City, "Doing four tours there, we worried about him, but that's what he wanted."
Bolander's father recalled his son as "an awesome kid. He played every sport, and he was a straight-A student. He was never in trouble." When he saw his son last year, the senior Bolander said, "He was about five foot, nine inches tall and was stocky as a kid, but when I hugged him, he was hard as nails. He told me he did push-ups during the commercials when he was watching TV."
Bryan Bolander was set to return to the U.S. soon for his wedding, which had been planned for June 6. As his father told the Journal, "His commander, his master sergeant, was to be the best man at his wedding. Now, he will accompany his body home."
The Nevada Appeal provides more detail:
Greg Bolander said his son's body is in Dover, Del., waiting for the rest of his platoon to fly in, which is what the men in his platoon say Staff Sgt. Bolander wanted.
Greg Bolander said members of his son's platoon plan to escort Bryan Bolander from Dover to Fort Campbell, where his platoon leader plans to be one of the pallbearers.
He said he and his family will head to Fort Campbell next week for the burial.
The Fresno Bee notes that Bolander was the recipient of "numerous awards and medals, including the Army Commendation Medal with Valor, which is typically awarded to soldiers who perform heroically in combat." Other decorations included "the Army Commendation Medal with "V" device; Army Commendation Medal (two awards); National Defense Service Medal; Army Good Conduct Medal (two awards); Iraqi Campaign Medal; Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Kosovo Campaign Medal with Bronze Service Star; Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon (two awards); Army Service Ribbon; Overseas Service Ribbon (two awards); NATO Medal; Meritorious Unit Citation; Ranger Tab; Combat Infantry Badge; Expert Infantry Badge; Air Assault Badge; Parachutist Badge; and Weapons Qualification, M4, expert."
According to the Leaf-Chronicle, Bolander is "survived by his son, Tyler Bolander, of St. Louis, Mo.; mother and step-father, Toni and Robert Kahrmann, of Clarksville; and father, Gregory Bolander, of Mesa, Ariz." Flags over the California capitol will fly at half-staff in his memory, as they will over state buildings in Kentucky, and the Patriot Guard will ride in his honor.Burial is planned at the Clarksville Veterans Cemetery in Tennessee. A memorial service will be held in Iraq.
Godspeed, Staff Sgt. Bryan E. Bolander.
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May the memories of all 4,067 of our fallen continue to shine brightly for all those they leave behind. May their families, friends and brothers and sisters in arms find healing and peace.
We also remember those coalition service members who have given their lives. Our condolences go out to their loved ones.
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What You Can Do
More than 30,000 service members have been wounded and soldier suicides are at a record level. Those currently serving in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan would also be grateful for support, even if it's only a letter or a small care package.
Go visit: * Anysoldier.com and Ninepatch’s diary on sending care packages * Operation Helmet * Fisher House * Greenies’ diary, "Random Acts of Remembrance and Other Ways to Support the Troops" * Noweasels’ diary, "Top Comments: In Honor of Major Edition"
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About "I Got the News Today" (IGTNT)
I Got the News Today is a diary series intended to honor service members who have died as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; its title is a reminder that almost every day a military family gets the terrible news about a loved one. Diaries about the fallen usually appear two days after their names are officially released, which allows time for the IGTNT team to find and tell their stories.
Click here to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and which is maintained by Sandy on Signal, monkeybiz, noweasels, MsWings, greenies, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, moneysmith, labwitchy, joyful, roses, SisTwo, SpamNunn and a girl in MI.
If you would like to comment on this tribute, but don't have an account at Daily Kos, contact monkeybiz here (address at top of page).
Please bear in mind that these diaries are read by friends and family of the service members chronicled here. May all of our remembrances be full of compassion rather than politics.