Cody Green and the Marines

A Fellow retired  Senior Chief Friend of ours who now resides in Indiana posted this to his facebook. I loved the story, It makes me so Proud of our Active Duty Service Members, and So Proud to be an American. So  I thought I would share it with all of you:

Cody Green was a 12-year kid in Indiana who was diagnosed with leukemia at 22 months old. He loved the Marines, and his parents said he drew strength and courage from the Marine Corps. as he bravely fought the battle into remission three times. Although he was cancer-free at the time, the chemotherapy had lowered his immune system and he developed a fungus infection that attacked his brain.
Sergeant Mark Dolfini heard of Cody Green's situation through his co-worker, and got in contact with Cody's parents. When the call came that Cody was passing, he took action.

"I got the call from David about 3:00 or 4:00 that afternoon," said Sgt. Dolfini. "He made it pretty clear to me that he was terminal and he wasn't going to last too much longer. I thought this is something that needs to happen right away."
"When I was driving down there, I had no idea what I was going to say, I had no idea what I was walking into, I didn't know if Cody was conscious," said Sgt. Dolfini. "I didn't know anything. I didn't know what I was walking into whatsoever."

When Sgt. Dolfini arrived, Cody was not awake.

"He was not conscious, " said Sgt. Dolfini. "I mean, if he was, he was not responsive but he was heading to a better place."

Sergeant Dolfini made the decision to stand guard outside Cody's door for as long as Cody was alive, which turned out to be eight straight hours. When a nurse told Sgt. Dolfini Cody's time was limited, Sgt. Dolfini made the choice to say goodbye.

He presented Cody with his navigator wings and let his family be with him in his final moments.

"I actually went in and talked to Tracy and David and we just talked for a little bit," said Sgt. Dolfini. "I asked them about Cody to tell me some things about him and ironically enough, we have quite a bit in common. Except the Saints. He's a Saints fan. I'm not, so we would have argued about that. Then I let them know I was going to go ahead and go and I saluted them on my way out and gave them their time."

Sergeant Dolfini said leaving Cody and his family was not one of the hardest thing he's ever done. That moment came a week later when he attended Cody's funeral.

"I went and went in front of the casket and saluted Cody," said Sgt. Dolfini. "I turned and before I left I stopped and I turned right to Tracy, Cody's mother. We looked straight into each other's eyes and I saluted her and that was so hard. That was the most difficult thing I've encountered in awhile, but I know for that moment in time that we were locked in each other's gaze, keeping your bearing at that point is a tough thing to do."

"Marines don't do this sort of thing for acclaim," said Sgt. Dolfini. "That's not how we're wired. It's not why we join. We didn't join the Marine Corps. to be rich, we didn't join it for fame, you don't do it for that reason."

"If we all did just something like that once a day or just something small just think of what an incredible legacy that would leave for Cody," said Sgt. Dolfini.

Sergeant Dolfini said he has spoken with Cody's family several times since his funeral. He said they will be friends for life