Builders,
In 2008, my father cut this obituary from the New York Times, wrote the two words “Human Courage” on it, and mailed it to me. No further words were required, the photo alone was testimony enough.
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My father measured Americans solely by the content of their character, and Merlin German’s courage moved my father beyond further words. German was burned over 97% of his body. He died 1,146 days after the IED blast, following a surgery. By all accounts, he never gave up.
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This week, too many people made blanket generalizations about immigrants from poor countries, and suggested they didn’t have anything to give America. Merlin German’s parents were immigrants from the Dominican Republic, the country adjacent to Haiti. What they give our country? Their son.
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Merlin German was born in Manhattan, a product of public schools there. Too many people from the middle of the country, most of whom have never spent a day in New York City, make assumptions about the values, ethics and loyalty of New Yorker’s. German’s life should offer some correction.
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Wewjr .
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