Cody Green, born on Thursday, January 27, 2000, was a 12-year-old 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. As he struggled to fend off that infection in the hospital, the Marines wanted to show how much they respected his will to live, his strength, honor, and courage.
They presented Cody with Marine navigator wings and named him an honorary United States Marine, but that wasn’t enough for one Marine.
The night before Cody Green passed away, on Saturday, April 28, 2012, retired U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Mark Dolfini took it upon himself to stand guard at Cody’s hospital door all night long, eight hours straight.
In keeping with the Corps motto of Semper Fidelis, Latin for Always Faithful, Dolfini stood his post at Cody’s door all night, saluting Mrs. Green as she went in and out of the room until Cody passed on Saturday.
A memorial service for the 12-year-old at Carroll Elementary School, where Cody was a student, was held, and the Marines gave him a full military funeral, complete with a color guard, Taps, and a 21-gun salute.
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