At the memorial service, Cottle was posthumously honored with a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for his service.
Cottle joined the LAPD in 1990 and won a position with the elite Special Weapons and Tactics team in 1996. The Marine reserve sergeant major served two previous tours in Afghanistan and voluntarily returned there in August.
The 45-year-old Cottle, who leaves behind a wife and a 9-month-old daughter, was killed March 24 by a roadside bomb in afghanistan. He died alongside a fellow Southern California Marine, Lance Corporal Rick Centanni, a 19-year-old light armored vehicle driver from Yorba Linda.
Cottle's family were expecting him home in late May.
