DOB/DOD: January 16, 1973 (Hartford, CT) – August 1, 2005; 32 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried
LOCAL ADDRESS: Wickham Road; Glastonbury
ENLISTMENT: 1997
MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY: 8541; Scout-Sniper
UNIT: Headquarters & Service Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, 4th Marine Division; Plainville, Connecticut
FAMILY: Born to Anita Coullard-Dziedzic (1955-). Stepfather, Greg C. (1944-). One stepbrother, Daniel Dziedzic (1976-). One stepsister, Jacqueline J. Dziedzic (1985-).
DECORATIONS: Received the Purple Heart Medal with device, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Selected Marine Corps Reserve Medal with two devices, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal with device, Global War on Terrorism Medal (Expeditionary), Global War on Terrorism Medal (Service), Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon with two devices, Navy Arctic Service Ribbon, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with ‘X’ device, ‘M’ device and the 2 devices, Rifle Expert, and Pistol Expert Badge.
CIRCUMSTANCES:One of six Marines killed in Hadithah, Iraq, when insurgents ambushed his unit. Others killed in the same attack:
Marine Sergeant Nathaniel S. Rock; Toronto, Ohio
Marine Corporal Jeffrey A. Boskovitch; North Royalton, Ohio
Marine Lance Corporal Roger D. Castleberry, Jr.; Austin, Texas
Marine Lance Corporal Daniel N. Deyarmin, Jr.; Tallmadge, Ohio
Marine Lance Corporal Brian P. Montgomery; Willougby, Ohio
Glastonbury High School; Class of 1992
From FallenHeroesMemorial.com
“To Dave’s Mom and family: It has taken me a long time to write something to you about Dave, and for that I am sorry. I could not verbalize my feelings and felt sure that you probably had enough people telling you that they are sorry about your loss. I know that the feeling will never go away; it is always there. Your son was a great Marine and a close friend. We laughed and cursed with each other during our time in the service. As a parent now, I can only wish that my child has as big a heart as your son did. I was told that when you get the chills thinking about a lost loved one, it is proof that they are still with you. EVERY time I think about Dave, I get the chills, and it consoles me to know that we have not lost him completely but are only temporarily separated. Dave was and still is a very special man, and I know for sure that he looked up to his mom for guidance and strength. Be strong together and use your son’s bright light to guide you through the darkest of days. Respectfully Submitted,”
— JS
From The Hartford Courant on August 7, 2005
Sergeant David J. Coullard, U.S. Marine Corps, 32, of Wickham Road, Glastonbury, son of Anita Coullard-Dziedzic, was killed in Iraq on Monday (August 1, 2005). Born in Hartford, he lived in Glastonbury most of his life. He was a graduate of Glastonbury High School and worked for the Plumbing and Heating Union, Local 777 Union, as a heating and air conditioning specialist for most of his working life. Besides his mother, Anita, and her husband, Greg Dziedzic of East Hartford, he leaves his step-brother, Daniel, and his wife, Mandy Dziedzic of Bloomfield; his step-sister, Jacqueline Dziedzic of Norfolk; his aunts and uncles, Joanne and Phillip Coach of Manchester, and Gregg and Donna Currier of Norfolk; a great aunt, Priscilla Feeser of Gloucester, MA; eight cousins, Shawna, Janessa, Brian, Danielle, Jordan, Robin, Greg, and Ellen; and two second cousins, Demetris and Caleb. David loved to hunt and do off-roading. An ecumenical service will be held on Thursday, August 11, at 10 a.m. in St. Paul’s Church, 2183 Main St., Glastonbury. Burial will follow immediately in the Veterans Section of Neipsic Cemetery. David will lay in State in St. Paul’s Church, where his family will receive friends and relatives on Wednesday, August 10, from 6-9 p.m. The Glastonbury Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Please visit http://www.mem.com for an everlasting memorial tribute.
From The Hartford Courant on August 2, 2006
By Peter Marieka
MARINE SERGEANT REMEMBERED BY PLANTING OF CEREMONIAL ARBOR AS THE TREE GROWS
GLASTONBURY — Whenever Anita Coullard-Dziedzic misses her son, she just presses a button and listens to
one of the many taped messages Sergeant David J. Coullard sent home from Iraq. “God, how I miss him,” Coullard’s mother said Tuesday, standing next to a memorial tree planted in the Marine’s honor on the grounds of Naubuc Elementary School. “This is powerful,” she said in the shadow of the beech tree. “This tops everything. The amount of support I’ve received from the community over the past year has been tremendous.” Coullard-Dziedzic was joined at the ceremony on the east side of the school by her husband, Greg Dziedzic, family, town, and school officials, along with Marines from Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 25th Marines of Plainville. A plaque in front of the tree reads: “In loving memory of Sergeant David J. Coullard January 16, 1973 – August 1, 2005. Dedicated by David’s Friends, Family, and the Town of Glastonbury.” Tuesday marked the first anniversary of Coullard’s death. Coullard, 32, was among six Marines — five of them from the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines of Ohio — in a sniper team that was ambushed by insurgents and killed by small arms fire outside Haditha on August 1, 2005. Pat Whelan started the ceremony by playing the Marine Corps hymn on the bagpipes. Karl Butzgy, a close friend of Coullard’s from childhood, served as master of ceremonies and said the tree represented “not only David’s sacrifice but all the men and women who put their lives on the line every day.” The Rev. Richard C. Allen, senior pastor of the Congregational Church in South Glastonbury, who gave the homily at Coullard’s funeral, said the setting for the memorial was perfect. “Elementary school is where we learn our ABCs and run into authority figures for the first time,” he said. “We learn about sharing and caring. … What I have seen over the past year is how much love there is in the community and how it keeps pouring out, and there seems to be no end to it.” During the ceremony, Marines gave Anita Coullard-Dziedzic a small display case with mementos of all Coullard’s Marine accomplishments, including pistol and sharpshooter ribbons, service medals, and a Purple Heart. Coullard-Dziedzic said the display case would be placed in a prominent location on the “David Wall” in her East Hartford home. “It’s been up and down,” Coullard-Deiedzic said about life without her son over the past year. “It’s acceptable because this is what he wanted and trained and worked to do. But I want him back. I want David back. I know he didn’t die in vain. He did have a purpose. He knew he was doing a good job and helping people. It’s not just the negatives, but the positives that help me understand his death.” Soon after Coullard’s death, a group of his childhood friends led by Army veteran Karl Butzgy began raising money to establish the memorial and set up a scholarship fund in Coullard’s memory. Coullard attended schools in town and was a member of Glastonbury High School’s Class of 1992. “This was our old stomping grounds,” Butzgy said after the ceremony. “This is where we met and grew up together. We didn’t want to do a stone or something. We wanted something that was living and growing like David would be living and growing if he was still here.” “It’s important for students to see the tree and the plaque and see the sacrifices people from Glastonbury and prior classmates made,” he added. Superintendent of Schools Alan Bookman worked with Butzgy to find the perfect location for the memorial tree and said it would be worked into the school’s observances of Veterans Day and Memorial Day. “It really is an honor for our school system to recognize someone who has given all for the country,” said Bookman, who remembered Coullard while serving as principal of Glastonbury High. “I think it will bring home what those days are all about.”
Memorialized on Bridge #01697, Route 94, Glastonbury, Connecticut.
Sergeant Coullard is buried in Neipsic Cemetery, 1341 Neipsic Road, Glastonbury, Connecticut; Veterans Section, Plot 357.
