12-year-old Cody Green always admired the strength and courage of the U.S. Marines. Last month, it was the Marines admiring the strength and courage of Cody.

To honor his undaunted optimism and long-time struggle with leukemia, during which he beat the cancer into remission three times, the Indiana fifth-grader was made an honorary Marine.

But that wasn't enough for Sergeant Mark Dolfini who took it upon himself to drive over to Riley Hospital for Children where the boy was bed-ridden.

He made the decision to stand guard in his dress uniform at Cody's hospital door all night long, for eight hours straight. It was the night before Cody passed.

Dolfini said one of the most difficult things he ever had to do happened during Cody's funeral when he locked eyes with the boy's mother, Tracy.

"We looked straight into each other's eyes and I saluted her," he told WLFI-News. "or that moment in time that we were locked in each other's gaze, keeping your bearing at that point is a tough thing to do."

(WATCH the video below, or READ the full story from WLFI)