DOB/DOD: November 27, 1987 (Waterbury, CT) – May 30, 2008; 20 years old
MARITAL STATUS:Unmarried
LOCAL ADDRESS: Crescent Street; Waterbury
ENLISTMENT: August 7, 2006
MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY: 2531; Field Radio Operator
UNIT: Marine Wing Support Squadron 172, Wing Support Group-37, 1st Marine Air Wing Forward); Okinawa
FAMILY: Born to Graham S. (1956-) and Karen Christensen Cotner (1958-). One brother, Eric W. (1986-).
CIRCUMSTANCES: Died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Al Anbar Province, Iraq.
Wilby High School (Waterbury, CT); Class of 2006
The only yearbook photo the school could find was this one:
From The Hartford Courant June 4, 2008
Corporal Christian Scott Cotner, age 20, died Friday (May 30, 2008), in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, while serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Corporal Cotner was born November 27, 1987, in Waterbury, the son of Graham and Karen (Christensen) Cotner of Waterbury. He was a graduate of Kingsbury Grammar School, North End Middle School, and Wilby High School. Upon graduation, Mr. Cotner joined the United States Marines Corps and has recently been serving as a Corporal in the Marines Wing Support Squadron #172, Group #17, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing III, Marine Expeditionary Force headquartered in Okinawa, Japan. He was a member of the Boys Scouts of America, Wilby High School, and ROTC, and was a member of the First Congregational Church of Waterbury. He had a passion for computers and electronic gaming, and enjoyed building and flying remote control airplanes, and was a member of the Nutmeg Flyers. Besides his parents, Christian is survived by a brother, Eric Cotner of Waterbury; his maternal grandparents, June Christensen of Waterbury and Carl L. Christensen of Lyme; his paternal grandparents, Billy and Gloria Cotner of Waterbury; his aunt Wendy Christensen of Florida, his uncle Eric Christensen and his wife Susan of Shelton, his aunt Cathy Crouse and her husband Ralph of Wolcott, cousins Stewart and David Crouse, Victoria Jelenik and Julie Christensen as well many close friends “The Crew.” A graveside service with full military honors will be held Saturday, June 7, at 10 a.m. at Riverside Cemetery, 496 Riverside Street in Waterbury, and a Memorial Service will be held Saturday, June 7, at 1 p.m. at the First Congregational Church of Waterbury, 222 W. Main Street. Family and friends who plan on attending the graveside service are asked to meet directly at Riverside Cemetery and stage outside the cemetery gate until the family arrives. At the family’s request, dress for the 1 p.m. memorial service should be “Tropical Casual” due to a very warm sanctuary. The Casey-O’Donnell Family Funeral Home, 1581 E. Main St Waterbury, has been entrusted to assist the family and the United States Armed Forces with funeral arrangements. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the First Congregational Church of Waterbury (222 W. Main Street, Waterbury, CT 06702) for a scholarship fund in memory of Christian Scott Cotner.
From The Record-Journal (Meriden, CT) on June 8, 2008
FAMILY OF MARINE DISPUTES SUICIDE
WATERBURY — A Connecticut couple is disputing the official Marine Corps conclusion that their son’s death in Iraq was a suicide. A report obtained by the Republican-American newspaper shows that Corporal Christian Scott Cotner of Waterbury died of a single, self-inflicted gunshot round from his service rifle. Karen Cotner and her husband, Graham Cotner, say they do not accept the Marines’ findings because everyone who knew their son also does not agree. Karen Cotner says her son had plans to visit home later in 2008 and planned a casino trip with his mother. An officer wrote in the report that the Marines may never know why Cotner took his own life in May 2008, two months after arriving in Iraq.
From The Press-Enterprise (Bloomsburg, PA) December 20, 2008
Christian S. Cotner’s brother, Eric, said he and his brother grew up on different sides of issues. I like the Red Sox. He liked the Yankees. I went to college. He wanted to go in the Marines. I remember the day he said he wanted to be a Marine. Our whole family worried about what would happen to him. But when he graduated, I immediately realized he wanted to be the best. I will always love him and keep him close to my heart.” Cotner, 20, of Waterbury, Connecticut, died May 30 from a non-hostile incident in Al Anbar Province. He was a 2006 high school graduate and was assigned to Okinawa, Japan. “I always remember him as being funny. He could always make me laugh. He was just a sweetheart,” said Amy Percy, a friend. Cotner didn’t like car trips but lit up at the sight of steam engines. He loved to play video games and recently sent his friends several hand-held video games from Iraq. He was fearless of heights, loved to bungee jump, ride roller coasters, mess with computers, and fly remote-controlled airplanes. He also is survived by his parents, Karen and Graham. — By the Associated Press
From The Hartford Courant June 9, 2008
By Rev Dr. Donna Schaper
A CHILD YOU HAVE KNOWN IS NOT A NUMBER
My congregation puts up the number of people killed in the Iraq war on our front sign and on our church’s website. We update the numbers weekly. They include the Iraqi dead and the American dead. Often, there is a bit of controversy about our numbers. They are either too big or too small. We aren’t completely sure that our numbers or our fact checkers are right. We get the numbers from two sources: U.S. military dead and wounded are taken from the “U.S. Casualties in Iraq” page of the AntiWar.com website and reflect the official U.S. military announcement of casualties; Iraqi civilian deaths are found at IraqBodyCount.org — this is the more controversial listing, as estimates vary not by tens and hundreds, but by thousands and hundreds of thousands. A man named Peter Gaitens does this work for us. He has a name. As of June 3, our front sign held the following numbers: U.S. soldiers killed — 4,087; U.S. soldiers wounded — 30,333; Iraqi civilians dead — 91,889. We can’t list all the names because there are too many, so we just list the numbers. Last week, our website (www judson.org) added another number but not a name, that of Christian Cotner. He is the 40th military member with ties to Connecticut who has died in Iraq and Afghanistan since U.S. operations began in those countries in 2003 and 2002, respectively. Two civilians from the state have also died. Cotner graduated from high school in Waterbury and was a member of the First Congregational Church there. I knew Christian Cotner as a child. He attended the same UCC and Unitarian summer camp as my children did, year after year, a magical place called Star Island, seven miles out to sea from Portsmouth, N.H. Year after year, he batted in the kid’s softball game, slid down the slide that faced the ocean, fought to ring the bell for dinner, and cross-dressed on Thursday nights when all the girls became guys, and the guys became girls. I know it’s unusual for a Christian youth camp. But you should see the pictures: They are quite splendid. Christian is now dead. He is not a number to me. And he is the first person with a name and a past who I know, by name, who has died. Week after week, those numbers on the front of the church have been lifeless in more ways than one. They didn’t have baseball bats or slides. They didn’t have stories you could tell about them. Maybe their lifelessness implied, the war wasn’t really happening and, if it was, it was just a little thing. A non-thing. An impersonal thing. A thing without a name. I know Christian well enough to know that he believed in this war. He was a Marine. Christians by faith, like him and like me, can disagree about war. We have for centuries. I am too sad about his death to use it to argue against the war. I’ve already done that every which way I know how — and am hoarse with hopelessness about anyone listening. The country seems to be with me on this matter. We know there is a war going on, but we are pretty sure it’s not real. My point is to say that I was listening to Christian Cotner’s life. I knew it as a heartbeat. And now I know it as a silence. One that I could never have imagined on those summer evenings when the children all made too much noise and told stories about who was teasing who and why and what we parents, lolling in our porchside rocking chairs, were supposed to do about it. Yes, our children quarreled. No, we were not able to “fix” things. Still, in all, you just can’t look at a child growing up and, year after year, say, “My, how you have grown,” and imagine that the child could become a war casualty. No one has the heart for that. You don’t let a child into your life and that of your children and then not protect the heart. If war is real, children are not safe. You don’t mention things like this on a summer evening after the lobster fest and before the hymn sing. You have to act like war is unreal in order to tell a child, “My, how you’ve grown since last year.” I know how much Christian’s family loved him. I am just now letting in the fact of his silence; later, I will find some useless words to pen to his family and his congregation. For now, his name has broken through the numbers.
Honored on the City of Waterbury (CT) Global War On Terrorism Memorial
From CaseyFunerals.com
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” – Romans 8:28 Karen and Graham. The both of you are very dear to my heart, and I love each of you. You took me into your home in a time of need that I had, and I can trust both of you moreso than most people in my life. I am thankful to have been able to call Christian a friend, but not only a friend, but a confidant I can trust as well a person that would kick my butt when it needed to be, and a brother in all things. I understand your sorrow and pain, and I am here for you in ANY capacity that I can fill. Anything. Do not hesitate to ask. Need your grass cut? I will be there. Anything. Eric, you are my closest friend, and I will always be a shoulder to lean on for you. Your brother loves you unconditionally. He wants you to excel, to be the best you can ever be. He has inspired me to be more than I let myself believe I can be. I got your back in all things, bro. Remember that. To all of you, remember that we cannot understand all things, and we may not know the reasons why things like this happen, but we can be assured that nothing is beyond God’s sovereignty. He has something here for us all to learn by. I know, for one, the inspiration of excellence that Christian has given to us all will make us better people. You have my deepest condolences and my love and prayers. I am here for you for anything.
— Roger Lee J. Cormier
From Legacy.com
I served with Corporal Cotner in Iraq. He was Comm, and I was a Cook, so I saw him every day over the time I was with MWSS 172. I came to know Cotner as a hell of a Marine and an even better man. I find myself thinking about him and his family around the holidays. I guess I just want to say to his family that they had an outstanding Marine but, even more important, a son that they should be PROUD of. Semper Fi Brother, gone be NEVER forgotten.
— Seth Minkler
Corporal Cotner is buried in Riverside Cemetery, 496 Riverside St., Waterbury, Connecticut; Section I, Lot 9.
