Heroes

I once fell down some stairs carrying some hot oil. I got burns on 17% of my body, my legs and foot. I spent a month in the hospital. I could barely move, I slept very little because I couldn't roll over, when I finally didn't have a catheter and could walk to the bathroom I still had to have someone come and help me "clean up." As painful as the burns were, the skin grafts were even more excruciating. They took skin from my upper legs, and grafted it to the burned, lower parts. It was horrible and if it wasn't for my family and the woman who would become my wife, I don't know how I would have made it through.

Today I read about this guy.

I had burns on 17% of my body. He had them on 97%.

They had to take skin from the few places on his body that weren't burned to grow skin for grafts. Then when the donor sites healed, they had to do it again.

From what I read and learned in the burn ward, this guy should have been dead. But he fought. Fought till the end.

This guy is what a hero is. This guy went to Iraq because he was a Marine. He was doing his duty. Regardless if the fight is right or wrong, he was doing his duty.

Memorial Day is when we remember heroes. Men and women that gave their lives for their country.

People like Merlin German.