The Washington Post had its obituary of Jan Scruggs, the father of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, wrapped up. So had the New York Times. Plans for his burial at Arlington National Cemetery were being made.

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.

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