Photo By Sgt. Judith Dacosta | Lt. Col. Larry L. Cottle, who deployed to Iraq with the 3rd Corps Support Command...... read more read more
Lt. Col. Larry Cottle, who deployed to Iraq with the 3rd Corps Support Command in August 2005, was able to see his two sons Quintin and Zachary, students at Omaha Skutt Catholic High School, win the High School Nebraska State Wrestling Championship during his Rest and Recuperation leave in February.
Their determination and desire to succeed - values inherent to Cottle as a Soldier " earned them a special place in their father's heart.
"My children are more than their weight in gold. It is their actions at home that have really made them my little champions," he said.
"When I stepped away from my family for the last time and headed for Iraq, Zachary had many tears," said Cottle. He told his sons then that the championship was there for them to have. They just had to work hard and believe they could win it, said Cottle.
"Only a handful of times in the State of Nebraska history have two brothers won high school state wrestling championship titles in the same year," said Cottle.
Roughly seven months later both of his sons won state titles not only joining the ranks of the historical handful of brothers who have accomplished this feat but earning military coins to boast of their accomplishments with their father by their side.
Quintin and Zachary won 1st place titles in the Class B, Nebraska State Wrestling Championship '06, according to www.wrestlingusa.com.
"When it was time for them to step on the awards stand to get their medals, I was down on the floor taking pictures as any proud father would do," said Cottle. "Many people were asking, 'Are you the dad that got to come home from the war to see his sons wrestle?' I was humbled and responded with, 'Yes I am,'" said Cottle.
"It meant so much, that 3rd COSCOM enabled me to take my Rest and Recuperation leave. I wouldn't have traded it for the world," said Cottle.
"Both boys were just thrilled to have their dad with them when they took the state finals," said the Cottle's grandmother Mary Lynne Redman according to a local news publication called the Tri-County News.
Everyone in Cottle's immediate family received Brig. Gen. Rebecca Halstead's, the 3rd COSCOM commanding general, coin on a chain and a personalized note in the mail to congratulate them on their victories and to thank them for Cottle's service in the U.S. Army, said Cottle.
Cottle said he plans to frame the coins with his son's championship bracket and state medals when he returns home.
"It will be a great way to capture the entire journey for all of us from start to end," said Cottle.
Aside from sports related accomplishments, Cottle is proud because his children have 'stepped up to the plate' to keep his family successfully united in his absence.
"I was proud of the fact that I was able to be home and enjoy the ride," said Cottle.
"I asked them before I left, to try and fill the void for me while I was gone," said Cottle.
"Quentin and Zachary both stepped up to the plate and took on many additional duties that normally would not have been in their lane," he said.
"They turned into my auto mechanics, fence repairers, plumbers and comforters when the little girls got hurt. They are doing just about anything else that gets thrown on their plate," said Cottle.
"I basically asked them to grow up faster than what they should have had to," said Cottle.
Cottle said he is very much a family man and this separation from his loved ones has clearly been the hardest part of this deployment.
Though deployments can be difficult witnessing his 'little champions' win a state title has undoubtedly made the journey a little easier for Cottle.
Moreover, the support of a command that seeks to highlight the accomplishments of even those who are just Soldiers at heart speaks volumes of praise to the modern day Army that values the family as a whole as much as the serving Soldier.
| Date Taken: | 07.17.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 07.17.2006 14:03 |
| Story ID: | 7195 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 159 |
| Downloads: | 48 |
This work, Sons will always be father's little champions, by SGT Judith Dacosta, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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