Army, Sergeant 1st ClassBased: Ft. Stewart, Ga.
3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: April 8, 2003
Baghdad, Iraq
Married, 6 children
Gender: Male
Hometown: Los Angeles
High School: George Washington Preparatory High (Los Angeles)
Burial: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va.
Sgt. 1st Class John W. Marshall, a career soldier on the verge of retirement, chose instead to enlist one last time because he felt he had a job to do in the Middle East.Read the entire LA Times article about Army Sergeant 1st Class John W. Marshall here. Find more here and here and visit Sergeant Marshall's Guest Book.
The 50-year-old sergeant, who grew up Los Angeles and later helped run a family business here, was killed Tuesday in an ambush in Baghdad, his relatives said Saturday. Marshall had been serving as a reconnaissance scout to secure safe passage for U.S. troops as they entered the city.
According to the Department of Defense, he was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade launched by Iraqi troops lying in wait.
"He knew it was dangerous. He didn't run from anything," his wife, Denise, said by phone Saturday from the couple's home in Hinesville, Ga.
Marshall was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment in Ft. Stewart, Ga. Just before his unit was sent to the Middle East last fall, Marshall's wife learned she needed eye surgery, and the couple talked over whether he should request a monthlong delay.
"He said he had prepared these guys and he had to go when they go. He said, 'I need to be there,' " Denise Marshall recalled. "So we agreed he should go. He was a scout to the end."
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Denise Marshall, widow of Army Sergeant First Class John W. Marshall of Los Angeles, center, red shirt, receives the American flag that draped the casket of her husband from General Larry Ellis during funeral services at Arlington National Cemetery. Pictured with her is one of Marshall's six children |
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