Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
----Surnames: Marshall, Urban
----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark, Co) 5/02/2019
Neillsville’s Marshall to be Honored by Legion (Marshall – 2019)
Local veteran Larry Marshall will be one of three people honored by the Neillsville Legion Post this Monday. (Photo submitted)
Neillsville native Larry Marshall will be one of three people honored by the American Legion Post 73 in May.
Marshall, who was born in Neillsville, will be recognized for his military service this Monday, May 6, at the Neillsville Legion Post, 6 Boon Boulevard.
Marshall attended St. Mary’s Catholic School and graduated from Neillsville High School in 1966. While in high school, he worked at Svetlik Ford.
After graduation, Marshall attended UW-River Falls for one year and UW-Eau Claire for a semester. He then took time off and went back to work for Svetlik Ford.
In May 1968, he was drafted into the U.S. Marine and Infantry at Camp Pendleton in California. He also received schooling for tracked vehicles, specializing in amphibious tractors, or AMTRAC’s, which are large vehicles that haul troops or cargo. AMTRAC vehicles float and can be loaded or unloaded from a dock loading ship.
In December of that year, Marshall was sent to Vietnam, where he eventually ended up at Qua Viet, where he spent 11 months. His unit was needed in the infantry, and they were sent to a remote area 10 miles west of Qua Viet. The main job of his unit was to stop the enemy from putting mines in the river, which connected his area to a battalion headquarters up the river to Dong Ha. They were 10 miles from the demilitarized zone (DMZ).
During the day they ran patrol, looking for any troop movements, bombs or rockets that did not detonate on bombing missions at the DMZ. At night, the unit set up ambushes along the river to catch the enemy placing mines.
The unit either walked, took a helicopter or a Navy patrol river boat to these locations. Later, he relocated to Da Nang, where he was crew chief on an AMTRAC that transported large number of troops to an area where they were making sweeps to find hidden caves and bunkers underground. One of the largest operations was in an area called Go Noi Island.
In January 1970, Larry was sent stateside to Camp LeJeune in North Carolina to be discharged with the rank of Corporal.
Marshall returned to Neillsville where he worked again at Svetlik Ford. He received a scholarship from the Ford Motor Company and attended Gateway Technical Institute in Kenosha for two years, receiving a degree in automotive technology.
He then returned to work at Svetlik Ford in 1979; Marshall managed Neillsville school buses and continued that for 30 years.
Marshall married his first wife, Janet, in 1971. She passed away in 2008. He has two sons, Ben and Jim, and four grandchildren.
Marshall married his current wife, Kathy, in 2011. He has two step-children, Scott and Becky, and two step-grandchildren.
Marshall loves the outdoors, fishing and hunting, convertible rides, camping and spending time with the kids in the family.
The program to honor the veterans starts at 4:30 p.m. and there will be a potluck at 5:30 p.m. Also honored will be Dick and T.J. Urban.
