As Cody Green lay dying, Sergeant Mark Dolfini stood guard outside his room. In crisp dress blues, wearing his NCO sword, Dolfini gave silent testimony to the courage that Green had demonstrated his entire life. Green’s example inspired the Marines he so admired.
Cody Green never stood on the yellow footprints of Parris Island, never qualified at the rifle range, nor wore a set of dress blues, but the 12-year-old who’d wanted to be a Marine all his life was made an honorary Marine for his bravery in his fight with leukemia. “They decided Cody, with the strength and honor and courage he showed through the whole thing, he should be a Marine,” Cody’s father David Snowberger told WLFI.
His obituary is posted on legacy.com:
Cody E. Green, 12, of rural Flora, died Saturday, April 28, 2012, at 12:45 p.m. at Riley Hospital for Children, Indianapolis. He was diagnosed with A.L.L., a form of leukemia, in late 2001. He was treated and was in remission until a relapse in 2007, treated again and was in remission until relapsing again October 15, 2011. He had been a patient at Riley since March 2, 2012. He never asked “Why Me,” and fought the illness with grace and humility, never complaining about his treatment or care, saying “Thank you,” to the many health care professionals that cared for him. For this, he was rewarded with Honorary Marine from the United States Marine Corps.
Semper Fi, Devil Dog. We’ll see you on the other side.
Thanks to the folks at Unconventional Military Art for sharing this via Facebook and to Barbara Mikulski at snopes.com for the confirmation.
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We're not lost, Sergeant, We're in ... France 
This made me cry
Comment by Gg 15 June 2012 @ 16:58