Soldiers honor memory of fallen troop

Courtesy Photo | FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq - Soldiers console each other at a memorial service held Jan. 3 for Cpl. Marcelino 'Ronnie' Corniel who was killed Dec. 31 during a mortar attack.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

01.10.2006

Courtesy Story

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Spc. Dan Balda
4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq - "As we come to the end of our deployment I've come to figure something out," said Capt. Danjel Bout, the A Company, 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment commander. "We are all bound by ties that can never be shattered; bone-deep bonds that were forged in the fires of combat and tempered in both sacrifice and loss. Today those ties grow tighter because today we have to say good bye to Ronnie Corniel."

Bout was sharing his memories of Cpl. Marcelino "Ronnie" Corniel while speaking at his memorial service held at Forward Operating Base Falcon, Jan. 3.

Corniel, a native of La Puente, Calif., was killed when a mortar struck his observation point Dec. 31, said Lt. Col. Everett Knapp, 1-184 Battalion Commander.

Corniel initially enlisted in the Marine Corps and when his time was up, found himself as part of the Inactive Ready Reserve. He volunteered to come to Iraq and joined his unit in September, Knapp said.

"No New Year's Eve will ever go by without recalling his sacrifice," Knapp said. "He stands as a lasting tribute to the American patriot who answered the calling and runs to the sound of the guns. God bless you Cpl. Corniel and God speed you to your new home in paradise."

Corniel's past as a Marine became a reoccurring theme.

"He was a Marine, and you know what they say, "Once a Marine, always a Marine,"" said Capt. David Anderson, the C Company, 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment commander. "It always seems the people you don't know too well are the ones you wish you had known better, just because of the stories people tell when they're gone. He was one of those guys."

Corniel quickly made many friends with his sense of humor. One of his favorite lines involved telling his friends that the Army Special Forces are glorified Marines.
"He could make people laugh at his stories: Marine stories are always humorous to Army guys," Anderson said.

Bout thought that his Marine training did nothing but add to his already extraordinary military bearing and leadership.

"Both on and off the battlefield â?¦ he exemplified the best qualities of both the United States Army and United States Marine Corps," Bout said.

Bout credited Corniel as his company's resident weapon's expert. He said that every time a new gun magazine would arrive at the barracks the other Soldiers would look at a picture of a weapon and ask Corniel to describe it.

"And sure enough he would amaze everyone by describing the nomenclature, caliber and the range; arcane facts were common knowledge to him. But his encyclopedic knowledge was not just a parlor trick. That expertise was critical out there on patrol. His knowledge helped make sure his platoon could carry out the mission and helped capture several enemy fighters."

According to Bout, Corniel was a natural born warrior but his gifts weren't limited to the battlefield.

"If anything his loyalty, his honesty and his charm eclipsed his fearsome marshal prowess," Bout said. "He was the type of man who reflexively used his gifts to help others. I don't think he even understood the concept of selfishness."

To Spc. Ronald Gan, Corniel was a former Devil Dog who volunteered to come to Iraq to pass off his skills to those who hungered for the knowledge that could possible save their life.

More importantly, Gan thought of Corniel not just as a brother-in-arms, but a brother.
Gan finished his remarks with some words of wisdom for Corniel.

"I know you're up there Ronnie, and I know that you asked the big man up there to issue you a new rifle and asked to take the first watch at the gates. Don't mouth off to the big man this time. I love you."

• Date Taken: 01.10.2006
• Date Posted: 01.10.2006 09:29
• Story ID: 5036
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ