USA First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff

Dear First Lady Aimee Wilson,
I am an ambassador for the Drug Epidemic Memorial Wall. I lost my son, Courage, on July 5,
2022, at age 23 to fentanyl poisoning. Courage graduated from high school in 2020 in Oregon
and had just moved home after finishing flight school in Florida. He was looking for flight jobs
to gain hours to become a commercial airline pilot. This was his lifelong dream. He had an
interview for a job in Texas and after he passed away, they contacted him for a second
interview.
Courage went out with friends in Salem and had come home late and was sleeping on the
couch. My husband and I walked by him all morning not realizing that anything was wrong,
until he let out a gasp and we called the paramedics. He spent 4 days in cardiac ICU until the
doctors declared him brain dead and we knew we had lost him.
We found search history on his laptop that was next to him on the couch for “what are the side
effects of oxycodone”. We know he was checking the drug because of drug testing for a new
flight job. He was deceived and someone had given him a counterfeit oxy M30 pill. The pill
had two times the lethal dose of fentanyl. We don’t know why he took the “oxy” pill. We do
know he was poisoned. He made a mistake taking the pill and that mistake cost him his life.
Courage was a son, uncle, Godfather, brother, grandson, and friend. He lit up a room with his
smile and made everyone feel special. He met friends easily and from all over the world. We
received condolences from 5 continents, 16 countries and 17 US states after his passing. He
survived poverty, malnourishment, and hard times being born in a third world country. He was
thriving in America when his life was cut short by this deadly drug, illicit fentanyl, and the
epidemic it is causing in Oregon and the United States.
We must do better. We must educate Oregonians to the evils of this drug, the Mexican cartels
who are producing it, and the Chinese who are supplying the materials. Our children need to
know the dangers presented to them daily around this epidemic.
We must also remember those who have lost their lives. Would you assist us in finding a
permanent location for a Drug Epidemic Memorial Wall within our Capitol? We have created
two memorial walls. One with photos & one with names. I am including Courage’s frame,
below.
These digital walls and albums update automatically. We would also like the photos displayed
in hard copy format. The wall of names can be projected on a wall so parents can touch their
loved one's name. We would like our loved ones to be treated like the victims that they are.
Oregon moms would love to meet with you & work to prevent this from happening ever again.
Sincerely,
Kim Minten
courage_forever23
Sublimity, Oregon
1097