Fallen Marine Remembered as a Talented Musician, Loving Son
Lance Cpl. Niall W. Coti-Sears, 23, died on June 23 during combat operations in the Helmand province of Afghanistan.
An 23-year-old marine who was raised in Washington, D.C. and Arlington died in Afghanistan in late June. Lance Cpl. Niall Coti-Sears attended Woodrow Wilson High School in Northwest Washington, according to a Fox 5 report. He joined the Marines in November 2008.
In the article, his mother, Susan Coti, tells the reporter how she learned of his death during a trip to Austrailia.
"When I got home, there were two beautiful, beautiful bouquets of very exotic flowers and he always had exquisite, sophisticated taste too. And there were two bouquets with beautiful notes, you know: 'Just because. You're always here for me, Mom. I love you. I'll see you soon."'
"And the other one: 'I love you with all my heart.' And I don't know if he sent them because he had some kind of premonition that something might ... well, I'm sure he knew something might happen. It was very, very dangerous what he was doing."
The full Fox 5 article is worth a read.
In a Washington Post article, Coti-Sears' grandparents recall how he was such a talented guitar player and pianist.
“He never had to look at the music,” his grandfather William Coti said. “He would take a piece of Bach or Chopin or Mozart and he’d change it. He’d say, ‘I like this better.’ ”
