Master Gunnery Sgt. Kendall Phelps

Phelps, 57, was working as a school teacher in Silverlake, Kan., when he came out of military retirement to deploy to Iraq late last year with a newly formed civil affairs unit whose ranks include his son, Maj. Christopher Phelps.

Sgt. Jose Herrera

Herrera, an armorer, has served in seven other jobs normally filled by more senior Marines. He also helped train three other Reserve units for upcoming mobilizations, serving as a primary marksmanship instructor for seven different infantry weapons.

Master Sgt. Richard Tibbetts

The only thing Master Sgt. Richard W. Tibbets has been doing longer than serving the Marine Corps is serving the Red Cross. The 22-year Marine veteran has been a Red Cross volunteer since age 15.

When Hurricane Charlie swept through his home state of Florida in September, Tibbets requested 21 days of leave to volunteer as an emergency response vehicle coordinator in Bradenton, Fla. He helped provide over 200,000 meals and 600,000 comfort kits to people in need before returning to Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va.

His return was short-lived. Another hurricane hit the Southeast the day after his return and Tibbets was out the door, this time to Andalusia, Ala., and Auburndale, Fla., where he led 25 volunteers in their relief efforts.

Gunnery Sgt. Michael Mella

Three weeks before a deployment to Iraq, Gunnery Sgt. Michael J. Mella became the commander of Weapons Platoon, Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, at Camp Pendleton, Calif., a job normally filled by an officer.

Soon after arriving in Iraq, Mella was wounded by a roadside bomb that severely damaged both his hands, and he was medically evacuated to the United States, where he endured 12 surgeries.

But even as he healed back home, he continued to provide leadership to his unit, dictating letters to his Marines still in harm's way. He also visited other injured Marines while hospitalized and gave speeches to raise money for the Injured Marines Semper Fi Fund.

Sergeant Daniel Cotnoir

Age 32. He lives in Lawrence, Mass., with his wife Kate and two daughters, Ashley, 11, and Morgan, 6.

DEVENS, Mass. - Shortly after Sgt. Daniel Cotnoir was mobilized for a deployment to Iraq, the Reserve small-arms repairman was instead assigned to do a job no Marine would ever want - collecting the remains of fellow Marines killed in action.

The job of a mortuary affairs specialist can be gruesome and emotionally traumatic, involving searching for body parts after an explosion or combing through a young Marine's wallet and finding photos of the family he left behind.

For his work, Cotnoir was selected as the 2005 Marine Corps Times Marine of the Year, an annual award recognizing an "everyday hero" who exemplifies outstanding professionalism, concern for other service members and community service.

Cotnoir is an armorer by trade; his assignment to mortuary affairs stems from his civilian occupation - he's a funeral home director in Lawrence, Mass., a hardscrabble, working- class town 30 minutes north of Boston. Cotnoir has been recognized by his superiors as an outstanding Marine who treated with the utmost respect and sensitivity the job of getting deceased Marines home. But even for a funeral home director, the memories of the job still weigh heavy on the heart.

"Because I do it in the civilian world, everyone says it's easy," he said. "It's not. It's hard. The stories I've gained from my deployment aren't the kind of stories you share. No one gets to die peacefully in their sleep over there."

Upstairs from the Racicot Funeral Home, Cotnoir sits in the kitchen of his apartment . There, in a thick Massachusetts accent, he recalls his deployment to Camp Taqaddum, Iraq, where he and his unit of 20 men, most of them junior Marines, handled the bodies of 180 fallen Marines.

"It's a lot harder to talk about the job now than it was at the time to actually do it," he said, pausing occasionally to choke back emotion. Caring for the bodies of fellow Marines is much tougher than civilians, he said, because of the camaraderie and brotherhood of the Marine Corps.

As hard as it was to see so many young Marines killed, the job brought Cotnoir pride in knowing that the dead were not being left behind and that families would have closure.

Cotnoir regularly cleaned and recompose the bloodied bodies and facial features of Marines killed in combat so that their buddies could say goodbye. It's important that the last bloody image on the battlefield not be their last, he said. Cotnoir's journey began at Camp Pendleton, Calif., where he was assigned to help train Marines in mortuary affairs. Previously, the Corps typically relied on Army units for this work. Cotnoir helped pioneer a new mortuary affairs military occupational specialty for the Marine Corps by training 40 Marines in mortuary and remains-recovery skills.

After arriving in Iraq, Cotnoir's unit was on constant call to retrieve fallen Marines. This often required combing large blast areas with multiple deaths for personal affects.

Back home, Cotnoir's involvement in the Corps and in his local community is evident when you walk past the pool table in his family's cavernous living room, where cue balls give way to piles of papers and manila folders filed with information about various philanthropies.

"You've got to do your part," he said. "You just can't live in the community and not give back to it."

The table has grown into Cotnoir's organizing area for his work on a yearly Marine Corps golf tournament that he and a fellow Marine started a few years ago. The tournament raises thousands of dollars each year for the Toys for Tots program and other unit activities.

Cotnoir also volunteers for military funeral details around Massachusetts a couple of times a month and is on the board of directors for Holy Family Hospital's Men's Guild, which raises money for a local hospital.

Back in Devens, Mass., where Cotnoir drills, his superiors say he is a dedicated Marine with an outstanding work ethic. He's a natural leader who motivates junior Marines to get things done, said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Edward Williamsc.

"They respect him," he said "He's just an all-around example of an excellent Marine."

Staff Sgt Erick Figueroa

On his own time and money, Figueroa supports area sports teams, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and March of Dimes. He earned the Volunteer Service Medal and helps a local police program for youths.

Pfc Steven Presser

When Presser realized his unit didn't have a chaplain, he started several ministry programs and suicide intervention classes. He also oversaw the purchase of $17,000 in furniture for a worship area.

Staff Sgt Fikisha Cooper-Clinkscales

In addition to raising two sons while her soldier-husband was away, Cooper-Clinkscales, unit mobilization planner, led a unit anti-drug program, helped plan annual training in Germany and served as the family readiness group leader for her husband's unit.

Staff Sgt Christopher Phelps

Phelps coordinated the delivery of more than 1,500 care packages to soldiers in Iraq. He is the president of the Tae Kwon Do Club at Camp Victory, Iraq, teaching martial arts to all who want to learn.

1st Sgt Brent Jurgersen

First Sgt. Brent Jurgersen - "The Rock," as his troops call him - was ambushed and shot in the face last June in Iraq. But he wasn't going to let that keep him out of action. He fought to recover in just four months and return to his unit. Once back in Iraq on patrol again, his Humvee was hit in January. He suffered serious wounds to his head and arm, and he lost a leg.

After a few weeks at Walter Reed Medical Center, Jurgersen returned to Germany to greet his unit as it returned from Iraq - and received a thunderous ovation from the troops. He is now back at Walter Reed. When not in physical therapy, he spends his time visiting other recovering soldiers and looking forward to resuming his Army career.