Budd M. Cote killed in combat

Southern Arizona loses another son to the Iraq war.

Lance Cpl. Budd Cote died Monday in Western Iraq when his vehicle was hit by a bomb.

He had spent time at three Northwest-side high schools before dropping out, getting his GED and joining the Marines.

As a group of his friends gathered around pictures of their close friend, they find it hard to believe their buddy won't be around to make any new memories.

“It was so unexpected cause I had just heard from him,” said friend Travis Mertz. “He said that everything was going good, he's having fun out there. The best fun you can have, I guess.”

Lance Cpl. Budd Cote was killed in Iraq on December 11 while patrolling with his Marine unit.

Cote was killed Monday by an Improvised Explosive Device or IED, while he and a couple other Marines were patrolling in the Al Anbar province of Iraq. They were assigned to Marine Wing Support Squadron 373, Marine Wing Support Group 37, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force stationed out of the Marine Corps Air Station at Miramar, California.

This was his first tour of duty and he had just left in September.

“For what he would always tell us he did it for the honor,” Mertz said. ”His dad was a marine and he wanted to follow in his dad's footsteps.”

Next week, Cote would've celebrated his first anniversary with his wife, although they have no kids, but Mertz says it was definitely in the picture along with a move to San Diego.

“They were planning on moving into an apartment out there and just settling down, starting a family,” Mertz said.

Lance Cpl. Cote joins the other 20 service men and women with Southern Arizona ties, who have died in Iraq or Afghanistan and like the others, he too will be greatly missed, by friends and family.

“Everything he did was just so animated and fun,” Mertz said. “There's not a dull point longer than five minutes, he just would have you in tears crying.”

Cote was the son of Roland and Marcella Cote. They lived near the intersection of Cortaro and Silverbell in Marana until they moved to Las Vegas recently to be close to their daughter.

Friends say Cote attended both Marana and Mountain View High Schools before moving temporarily to Las Vegas. He returned to Tucson and attended Canyon del Oro High School, but dropped out and got his GED before joining the Marines.

Cote's wife said funeral services will be held in Las Vegas in the near future.

From KMSB 11