Boy made honorary Marine before death

FLORA, Ind. (WLFI) - 12-year-old Cody Green has always admired the strength and courage of the marines. At 12:35 Saturday afternoon, it was the Marines admiring the strength and courage of Cody.

Cody had leukemia since he was 22 months old, but beat the disease three times. Although he was cancer-free, the chemotherapy lowered his immune system and Saturday afternoon, he died from a fungus that attacked his brain. Members of the Marines decided to step in and do something.

"They decided Cody, with the strength and honor and courage he showed through the whole thing, he should be a Marine," said Cody's father David Snowberger.

Cody was given Marine navigator wings and was made an honorary member of the United States Marine Corps. For one Marine, that wasn't enough, so he did even more.

"The night before Cody passed, he stood guard at Cody's door at the hospital all night long for eight hours straight," said Snowberger.

Cody was a fifth grader at Carroll Elementary School and, if you asked anyone, could only be described in one way.

"He was a comedian all the time," said Snowberger. "I mean, nothing was ever negative. He was just always happy, always worried about everybody else."

That's why it made it so tough for Carroll Elementary Assistant Principal Roy Hufford to make the call to students. This call, he hopes nobody should ever have to make.

"Basically, I just said that it's with a heavy heart that we have to let you know that Cody Green, a fifth grader, has passed away," said Hufford.

On Monday, trees outside Carroll Elementary School were decorated with green ribbons, Cody's favorite color. Students also wrote messages on green balloons and then released them in Cody's honor.

Although there were tears, there was also laughter, as everyone took the day to celebrate the life of Cody Green.

A memorial service for Cody Green will be held at Carroll Elementary School on Saturday from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. All contributions will be donated to the cancer unit at Riley Children's Hospital.