Some background info on this Marine. A link to the Marine Corps Times.
http://www.militarycity.com/promos/smoy05/moyone05.php?loc=mc
CITATION:
Sergeant Daniel Cotnoir
Ordnance Maintenance Company
4th Maintenance Battalion
Devens, MA
Sergeant Daniel Cotnoir is a natural leader who epitomizes the Marine commitment to fellow Marines. He is an example of the essential role our Reserve forces have today. But it is the special, unsung role he has played, honoring and caring for our fallen heroes, that calls us to honor him tonight.
For Sgt. Cotnoir was called upon to do what no other Marine really wants to do, but what must be done: take charge of bringing fallen Marines home to their final resting place, from the battlefield. This he has done with a tremendous sense of honor and dignity befitting the memory, sacrifice and integrity of those who have given their lives for our country. He has seen first-hand the sacrifices that many of us back home see only in abstract terms.
An armorer by military specialty, Sgt. Cotnoir, during his deployment to Iraq, found himself assigned to a new area. The Marines had no mortuary affairs specialists, and desperately needed his funerary skills from civilian life. He volunteered for this particularly difficult, traumatic and often thankless battlefield assignment, because he knew he could handle it, and he knew how important it is to honor the fallen Marines. Sgt. Cotnoir pioneered a new mortuary affairs military occupational specialty for the Corps. He wrote the manual, and volunteered to train 40 Marines in mortuary and remains-recovery skills. He designed a special training package covering subjects including anatomy, blood-borne pathogens, and the conduct of search and recovery missions. His counsel, encouragement and compassion were an example to these Marines engaged in a very psychologically stressful mission.
His selflessness and dedication to fallen Marines, and to their families back home, is truly inspiring. This noble mission is always emotionally traumatic, and often dangerous – searching through blast areas, gathering remains and personal effects, often while under enemy fire. Sgt. Cotnoir’s efforts are responsible for returning 182 fallen heroes to their families. On one occasion, for instance, he crawled into a burned LAV-25 to recover a set of remains trapped in the dangerous wreckage. He did this in full knowledge that he would be exposed to large quantities of depleted uranium rounds.
Back home, Sergeant Cotnoir is an active volunteer in his community. A fellow Marine says, “He’s just an all-around example of an excellent Marine.” A resident of Lawrence, Massachusetts, Sergeant Cotnoir is married and has two daughters. It is truly our honor to recognize this outstanding, unsung hero. Please join in saluting Sergeant Daniel Cotnoir as 2005’s Marine Corps Times Marine of the Year. "
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This Marine has done good for his Country.