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Typically he glided by the nickname, Mik. To the 1000’s of individuals, particularly veterans, who listened to his hip-hop, he was referred to as Doc Todd. George Michael Todd was a Navy corpsman who served in Afghanistan with the two/8 Marines — referred to as “America’s Battalion.”
He died in Atlanta earlier this month on the age of 38. The trigger was sudden cardiac demise, in keeping with his spouse, Abigail.
George Michael Todd in Helmand Province in Afghanistan in June 2009.
Abigail Todd
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Abigail Todd
George Michael Todd in Helmand Province in Afghanistan in June 2009.
Abigail Todd
In 2017, Todd advised NPR his album Fight Drugs was supposed to assist fellow veterans heal. One in every of his hottest songs, “Not Alone” is about empowerment, “about taking cost of your life, taking cost of your transition” from the fight zone to civilian life, he mentioned.
This week, a whole lot of family and friends members attended his funeral in Sandy Springs, GA.
“First time I met Mik,” Kris McDaniel, Lead Pastor of Trinity Anglican Church advised funeral attendees, “he got here as much as me after church … and simply swallowed me up in a hug, and the very first thing he says is ‘I am a rapper!’ ” McDaniel chuckles on the reminiscence, “And I used to be like, certain you’re a rapper.'”
Later, McDaniel discovered it was true and have become a fan.
Doc Todd was born in Memphis on Feb. 16, 1985, to George Sr. (Mike) and Rebecca Googe Todd. He joined the Navy in his mid-20s.
In 2009, he was in Afghanistan throughout an American push within the Helmand River valley, which was managed by the Taliban. As a corpsman (primarily a medic), he handled blast and burn accidents. The warmth was additionally brutal, says U.S. Marine Corps Colonel Eric Meador who obtained to know Todd properly.
“The blokes simply could not keep cooled off,” remembers Meador. He says Todd and his crew began pulling guys off the frontline and telling them to leap within the canal. ” ‘Get moist, get again out. Now you get again up on the road, proceed combating and let’s rotate. Get the subsequent guys in there.’ ”
Meador says Todd “saved a variety of guys from being warmth casualties.”
The primary Marine to be killed in that battle was Todd’s roommate, 20-year-old Lance Cpl. Charles Seth Sharp. Extra pals died or have been wounded. Todd got here residence with PTSD.
However Meador remembers Todd as somebody who introduced levity to robust conditions. “Folks have been drawn to him… He had a bit clique of fellows that did jingles and raps and little sing songs collectively.”
He was identified to examine in with fellow vets commonly.
Doc Todd and his spouse Abigail Todd within the final selfie they took collectively, in Dec. 2022
Abigail Todd
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Abigail Todd
Doc Todd and his spouse Abigail Todd within the final selfie they took collectively, in Dec. 2022
Abigail Todd
“I do not even know what to say,” writes Chase Reynolds on Todd’s Instagram, “His music helped me once I got here residence. Even chatted a bit. RIP brother.. thanks for the whole lot you’ve got executed for our neighborhood.. we obtained it from right here.”
Meador says, over time, he would get texts out of the blue from Todd. “‘Hey sir… Simply checking on you. Are you good?’ That was the fixed messaging. And I am only one. There’s numerous others.”
Earlier than he deployed to Afghanistan Todd fell head over heels in love along with his future spouse. At his funeral, Abby Todd learn a letter he’d written to her from Afghanistan:
“I dream about you nearly each evening. You soothed me a lot and turned my nervous vitality into one thing optimistic. You make me a greater particular person, and I thanks deeply for that. … It is loopy. Irrespective of how a lot I wash my ft, they nonetheless stink. I simply wished to let you know that. I do not know why.”
The Todd household throughout a house renovation in Might 2020.
Abigail Todd
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Abigail Todd
The Todd household throughout a house renovation in Might 2020.
Abigail Todd
The room erupted in laughter.
There was that levity. However Todd wasn’t afraid to, as pastor Kris McDaniel put it, pull “again the curtain on ache and loss.”
“How cathartic is it when somebody, an enormous man, a navy man, appears to be like out on the world and says, ‘All of us undergo stuff and we will all make it by way of stuff. We will all get someplace if we notice we’re not alone.’ “
McDaniel additionally mentioned, “One of the best ways we honor the passing of a delicate large, an enormous hearted man, is to attempt to be as actual as he was.”
George “Doc” “Mik” Todd is survived by his spouse and two daughters, his mother and father, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins and a complete lot of pals.
