His name was Merlin Griffin.  United States Marine Corp.  Soldier in a war that was declared a success 5 years and 23 days ago.  5 YEARS and 23 days ago. 

Merlin was a good-looking, physically fit kid.

Sergeant Merlin was reduced to a deformed young man fighting for his life and embarrassed by his own existence.  His scars and repeated surgeries and skin grafts made something as simple as dancing with his Mom a painful proposition.

This brave, young fighter never knew love outside of his own family.  His legacy of courage, determination and sacrifice will not be passed down to the children he never had.

Even looking at these two juxtaposed images tells a story.  Merlin Griffin was transformed in the instant of a roadside blast from naive, youthful and ready for the challenges ahead to painfully experienced, fatigued and challenged by simply breathing or walking.  Here is his story.

‘He was unstoppable’
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.”

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