I was just your regular small town Georgia girl. About 6 months into dating my high school sweetie, Coty, he took a journey as a boy and became a Marine. This journey filled me with pride and proved our love for each other all the more. Shortly after that, we took another journey which started as two people and finished as one.
I was 18, married and you couldn’t have found me any happier. Fast forward to 4 years of dating and 2 years of marriage later; Coty was a machine gunner for the 2/9 Golf Company, had already done tour in Iraq and even went on a boat ride(as I called it) to cuba for a deployment. But I will never forget his last tour of duty… when he left for Afghanistan.
This deployment felt different. I knew it would be bad. He was nervous about it and nearly every night when he left for missions I would have dreams of him getting killed or hurt, but I wrote it off. It was normal I told myself. ‘I am in nursing school I am stressed out that’s all.’
Coty last call came September 29th, he told me he found a bible verse he wanted a tattoo of and how much he loved me. The verse was 1 Corinthians 13.
On October 3, 2010 my husband stepped on IED and lost both of his legs. I’ll never forget when the 1SGT knocked on my door. I cried “You have the wrong house” and told him to leave. In tears, he simply said “He is alive.” A day later was told to pack quickly. I was going to Germany. I arrived at the hospital at 6:00 AM. Once there, I found my husband had brain damage and was classified a vegetable. Coty left us at 6:27 PM. That was the night I lost my better half and my best friend. I struggle every day with the fact that he is really gone and won’t be with the main party arriving home in February. We had so many plans: Starting our family, he had just re-enlisted. Now they are all gone… The fact that I will never see his smile breaks me inside, but everyday I put a smile on through tears because at least I got 4 years of love while others never do…..
Semper Fi
Cpl Stephen C. Sockalosky 02/12/1989-10/06/2010