Vietnam Wall founder dodges death a fourth time

But Scruggs, in a coma for 28 days in his fourth battle with certain death, wasn’t giving up, even though his caregivers were recommending palliative care. And neither was his wife, Rebecca, nor his friends, including megastar Jimmy Buffett, who wrote Scruggs’ battle into a new song, and author, special forces expert John Fenzel, who prayed at the side of his former Army pal, or former Obama-era Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel who nonetheless was working on his Arlington funeral.

“I was as good as dead, but I still had a pulse, and a lot of people cared and prayed for me,” Scruggs said.

And, added the Purple Heart Vietnam War recipient who fought naysayers to get The Wall built in just three years, he couldn’t give up until notching one more achievement — getting a monument built to the Global War on Terror in Washington.

“I have one more mission,” said the founder and president emeritus of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.

Scruggs, 67, who almost bled to death in Vietnam in a 1969 mortar attack, suffered from heart-damaging rheumatic fever as a child, and it has dogged him ever since, two other times pushing him to the edge of death.

The latest episode with endocarditis happened Nov. 10, the day before Veterans Day, at his home in Annapolis. “The last thing I heard was my wife saying, ‘I think we better call an ambulance.’”

She said that for the next 28 days, death was the likely outcome. But, said Rebecca, “He is a fighter; he has always been a fighter.”

Fenzel, whose latest novel “The Fifth Column” is due out March 16, said he saw Scruggs two days before he went into a coma, and he was devastated when Rebecca texted him, “It’s very grave.”

During prayer visits, he said Scruggs “was as close to death as they come,” his body ravaged by the bacteria in his body. “We honestly thought we’d seen the last of him. It just shows that prayers work,” he added.

Hagel, who has known Scruggs since he helped raise money to build the Wall, said, “You never count Jan Scruggs out, this is a guy full of surprises and is one of the toughest guys I have ever known.”

Still, with Scruggs in a coma, Hagel worked on a full honors funeral for his friend just in case. “The fact is that we’re all going to make an exit at some point,” said Hagel, a former Nebraska senator. He added, “I wanted to make sure that if in fact this was the end, I would help Becky on this and we would make sure all of us did what we could to make sure that this exit was appropriately recognized because this guy is one of the real unique characters in America in the last 50 years.”

And Buffett helped too. On Facebook, Scruggs revealed, “When I was in a coma in November and December of 2017, I had two friends rooting for me, my wife Becky and Jimmy Buffett. He made a little song ending with the words ‘Hang In There, Jan.’ The song was played for me daily. My chance of survival was near zero. So thanks for the motivation Jimmy!!! And thanks to the many who prayed and gave support to Becky Scruggs as she worked to keep me alive.”

During an interview with Scruggs, prayer was a central theme, and he told Secrets why. Ever since the mortar attack, he has said the Lord’s Prayer every day. “It works for me.”

While he is likely to undergo heart surgery, Scruggs’ recovery has been remarkable. In just a few weeks, he was able to walk on his own and last week went out to get a haircut.

“I’m feeling pretty decent,” he said, “though I’m not ready to run any marathons.”

Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]