HEMET, CA, USA U.S. Navy HN, NACC PTH MC U DT SADAH, IRAQ 10/23/2006
Charles Otto Sare was born on December, 1982, in Hemet, CA. Nicknamed before he was born, he was simply known by everyone as “Otter”. Otter has always been a caring and compassionate person, filled with love for anyone, and he was loved by all those he came in contact with. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for someone regardless if he knew you or not. Otter would make it his personal mission to make you smile. If Otter couldn’t accomplish this task by his infectious smile, or warming eyes, then for some he would buy flowers if they would promise to smile, or one of his favorite tricks was to saran wrap your car with a bow on top. Otter would often just stop by to visit, but always made it a point to keep close to those who just needed someone to talk to.
Otter just simply loved people and he made friends no matter where he went. It is no wonder that he wanted to be a paramedic/fireman. Otter chose to fulfill that dream by joining the United States Navy to serve this country as a Navy Corpsman in November 2004.
After boot camp and his “A” school, Otter was sent to Port Hueneme Navy base, CA, where he continued living and growing with his dream. A letter from his Lieutenant stated, “Sare, Otter is an excellent corpsman and I truly love having him around the clinic. He cheers me up many times when I’m overwhelmed with patient’s calls and needs. You should see him work too. He has an amazing bedside manner and seems to be a natural at caring……….I hope to see him progress within the medical field because I could see him as a physician assistant or better someday. One day Sare will probably deploy with the marines. I know he’ll do very well because he has a knack at being a people person.”
That day did come on September 1, 2006, Otter left for Al Quim, Iraq, with the Marines ,¾ Lima Company. While deployed in Iraq, Otter had the opportunity to provide medical care to his fellow soldiers as well as to the people of Iraq, by doing so he continued achieving his dream of being a paramedic. Unfortunately on October 23, 2006, at 2106 hours, Otter lost his life in defense of this great nation and in helping the people of Iraq gain the freedoms that we enjoy due to democracy.
This statement was posted about Otter, “A hero is someone who could have taken the easier road, but chose not to; could have avoided the sacrifice, but walked toward it”. It speaks volumes about Otter; he had a choice to make and he chose combat duty because he loved people, loved what he was doing, and he was living his dream. Least we never forget the examples Otter has shown us by the way he lived his life and may we strive not to be afraid to set our own examples and dreams in his honor.