How incapable indeed.
In December, 1919, twin brothers, Philip Felix Kahn and Samuel Kahn, were born in Manhattan. The brothers arrived in the midst of a pandemic. A century ago, it was the Spanish flu that was the world's scourge. A couple of weeks after Philip and Samuel arrived, the Spanish flu took Samuel's life.
Philip Kahn grew up never knowing his twin brother, Samuel. He did quite a bit more than simply grow up. He lived what was, by all accounts, an extraordinary life. He fought in World War II in the Pacific as part of an Army aerial unit, taking part in the Battle of Iwo Jima and firebombing raids over Japan. For his service, he was awarded two Bronze Stars.
Following World War II, he married, started a family, and went to work. As an electrical foreman he helped build the first World Trade Center and lived to see it destroyed in the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, and then to see it reborn.
A little bit more than four months after Philip Kahn celebrated his 100th birthday, this vibrant man who lived on his own in his home on Long Island and who kept himself in shape by walking one mile to two miles a day died.
A century after the 20th Century's pandemic killed Samuel, the 21st Century's pandemic came for Philip. He died from COVID-19 on April 17, 2020.
Philip Kahn
Photo Credit: New York Post
-AK
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