By Your Side Caring & Consulting LLC

12/05/2026

In a powerful display of military brotherhood, former Marine Sergeant Mark Dolfini stood a final watch for Cody Green, a 12-year-old boy who spent a decade battling leukemia.

Cody, who lived in Flora, Indiana, had admired the Marine Corps since he was a toddler, drawing strength from their values through three bouts of cancer.

In April 2012, as Cody faced his final hours at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, local Marines officially named him an Honorary Marine.

Upon hearing the news, Dolfini—wearing his full dress blues—arrived at the hospital and stood at attention outside Cody’s door for eight consecutive hours until the boy passed away the following morning.

At Cody’s funeral, which included a full military color guard and 21- r***e salute, Dolfini stood by the family and rendered a final salute to the honorary member.

08/05/2026

He waited years to wear the uniform. He only got two.

August 2021, Abbey Gate, Kabul. The scene was chaos — thousands of civilians pressing forward, families desperate to escape, children lifted over barriers, fear everywhere. No clear control. No certainty of what would happen next.

David Lee Espinoza was just 20 years old, standing in the middle of it. He didn’t step back. He reached forward. Again and again, he pulled civilians to safety, helping them over barriers, creating space where there was none, bringing order to a moment collapsing into panic.

He wasn’t thinking about himself. He was thinking about the people in front of him.

The crowd kept growing. The tension kept rising. And then, in a single instant, everything changed. A su***de bomber detonated in the middle of the chaos. The blast tore through the crowd, killing 13 U.S. service members and more than 160 civilians. Espinoza was among those lost.

His life ended in the place where he had chosen to stand for others.

He had waited years for the chance to serve. And when that moment came, he stepped into it fully — knowing the risk, carrying the responsibility, doing the job when it mattered most.

The headlines moved on. For many, his name became just another line in a story they barely remember. But for the people who made it through that gate because he stayed, his impact didn’t end there.

Because sometimes a life isn’t measured in years. It’s measured in the lives it saves in a single moment.

23/04/2026

On this day, we remember the courage of Cpl. Yale and LCpl. Haerter.

On April 22, 2008, in Ramadi, Iraq, two Marine infantrymen stood their ground and opened fire on a truck carrying 2,000 pounds of explosives as it barreled toward their post and the 150 Marines and Iraqi police inside the perimeter.

The truck stopped just shy of Cpl. Jonathan Yale and Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter, its windshield and the driver behind the wheel both blown away in a hail of gunfire. Then it detonated, killing the two Marines and leveling a city a block.

The attack, the Marines’ final stand, and their sacrifice all took place in a matter of seconds.

Haerter and Yale, were posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for their actions, which were later recounted by Iraqi police present that day and captured on a security camera,

16/04/2026

There are moments that don’t need a pulpit to preach because the story is already standing in front of you.

Today, By Your Side Caring & Consulting had the honor of sitting with a Korean War veteran one of the quiet pillars of our nation’s story. No spotlight. No applause. Just presence.

And sometimes, presence is the ministry.

He didn’t have to say much. The hat said enough: Korean Veteran.
A generation that carried war in their bodies but rarely spoke it with their mouths.
A generation trained to survive but rarely invited to heal.

And that is where we step in.

Because survival is not the finish line.
Healing is.

In that moment, two worlds met .One who fought in a war history almost forgot…
And one called to make sure his story is never lost.

This is the sacred work of By Your Side:

To sit where others pass by.
To listen where others rush.
To honor wounds that never made it into medical charts the invisible ones… the spiritual ones… the moral ones.

To every veteran reading this:

You are not just a story of endurance.
You are a soul worthy of care.

And we are here not above you, not ahead of you but by your side.

05/04/2026

15/02/2026

“You Survived, But Have You Healed?”

To every veteran reading this you survived the deployment.You survived the desert, you survived the convoy, you survived the blast, you survived the paperwork , you survived coming home to a world that moved on without you.

But let me ask you something deeper than survival: Have you healed?

Survival is instinct.Healing is intentional.

Survival kept your heart beating. Healing restores your soul.

Some of us mastered performance. We smile in public and shut down in private. We function at work but fall apart at night. We lead others but won’t sit still long enough to feel our own grief.

And here’s the truth nobody told us in uniform:Hypervigilance is not peace.
Isolation is not strength.Numbness is not healing.

Your body learned to stay on alert. Your mind learned to anticipate danger. Your spirit learned to brace for impact. That was necessary then.

But if you’re still living in combat mode years later, your nervous system is exhausted — and your soul is asking for relief.

Healing does not make you soft.
Healing makes you whole.

It takes courage to face an enemy you can see. It takes greater courage to face the one within.

If you’ve been carrying guilt, grief, anger, moral injury, spiritual questions you are not alone. What you experienced mattered. What you felt mattered. What you lost mattered.

But your story is not defined by the worst thing that happened to you.

You survived.

Now give yourself permission to heal.

Reach out. Talk to someone. Pray. Go to therapy. Call a battle buddy. Sit with a chaplain. Start somewhere.Real warriors don’t fight alone , and you don’t have to either.

17/01/2026

Today, at the table, sacred ground opened up.

Seating beside a family who carried quiet history in their posture. As conversation unfolded, three veterans shared their stories two Marine, one Navy both shaped by deployment, service, and the long road home. No speeches. No fanfare. Just truth exchanged over coffee. I asked if I could shake their hands.

Not to examine wounds, but to honor them.

I thanked them for their service not with rehearsed words, but with presence. I asked if I could take a picture and share it as a small token of gratitude, a witness that their service still matters. They said yes. Then they said something I won’t forget:

“Thank you for what you’re doing.”

This is the heart of By Your Side. Not programs before people. Not platforms before presence. But showing up right where veterans already are.

Sometimes ministry doesn’t happen in sanctuaries or hospitals. Sometimes it happens at a table, when strangers become neighbors and stories are treated as sacred.

To every veteran whose hands still carry the weight of service ,you are seen and you do not walk alone.

10/01/2026

Today, By Your Side had the honor of meeting a United States Marine veteran who served from 1961 to 1963. In a simple moment, we paused to thank him for his service and he, in turn, thanked By Your Side.

That exchange reminded us why this work matters. Presence matters. Honor matters. And the stories of those who served must never be rushed past or forgotten.

To this Marine and to all who have worn the uniform we see you, we honor you, and we thank you.

By Your Side. Always.

22/11/2025

By Your Side: Honored to Serve the NC A&T Football Family

Today, heaven opened a door I did not chase—it found me.By Your Side has been given the sacred opportunity to serve as chaplain for the North Carolina A&T Football Team.

To stand before these young men warriors in cleats, carrying dreams, pressure, and expectation was holy ground. In every helmet I saw a story. In every jersey I saw purpose. And in every heart I felt what every chaplain knows well: even champions need a place to breathe, to heal, to be seen.

This is more than a partnership.This is ministry wrapped in mentorship,presence wrapped in purpose,chaplaincy wrapped in care.

As a Marine veteran, I know what it means to carry weight that the world never sees.
As a hospital chaplain, I know what it means to speak life into tired souls. As a servant of Christ, I know that leadership is not loud it’s faithful.

So to the NC A&T Football Team:
Thank you for trusting us. Thank you for opening your hearts. Thank you for letting us journey with you through this season and p
on the field, off the field, and in the quiet spaces where real battles are fought.

We are here. We are present. We are By Your Side.