Marschman Is October Veteran Of The Month

By Doug KapkeErnest F. Marschman, Jr. was honored this week as Jefferson County’s Veteran of the month for October. In additon, he was presented with a Quilt of Valor and a handmade wreath by Marley Rosener.Marschman was born August 5, 1932, to a farm family in Jefferson County, living two miles west and a quarter mile south of the Bower and Highway 15 intersection north of Fairbury. At age six he attended grades one through five at District 24, located ¾ of a mile south of the family farm.During this period of time, he learned to harrow, plant crops and pick corn behind a team of horses. At age 11, the family moved two miles east and two miles south of Daykin, where Marschman attended the sixth through eighth grades at District 86.Upon graduation from grade school, high school was not possible due to the fact that his father was severely disabled with arthritis. Marschman became the family bread winner. In those days, a family could make a living off a 160-acre farm, but due to the heavy work load of milking cows by hand, caring for hogs and other farm animals, there were few trips to town. However, farming did become somewhat easier with the advent of farm machinery.Marschman continued to work the family farm until age 21 when he was drafted into the U.S. Army to serve during the Korean War. On May 15, 1953, he found himself at a very hot location for eight weeks of Basic Training at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas. He remained at Fort Chaffee for an additional eight weeks for Advanced Individual Training.From July, 1953, to September, 1953, new recruit Marschman, against his will, spent his time in “Cook School.”After 10 days of leave, Marschman had new orders to report to Walters Air Force Base at Mineral Wells, Texas. They were not in need of cooks, so it was off to eight weeks of heavy equipment training.Marschman managed to find time to marry his wife, Luree, before being assigned to the Strategic Air Command that served as the bombardment arm of the U.S. Force and as a major part of the nuclear deterrent against the Soviet Union between 1946 and 1992. His duty location was Frobisher Bay, an inlet of the North Atlantic Ocean extending into southeastern Baffin Island, Nunavut Territory, Canada. The main focus of this assignment was to extend a runway to accommodate jet aircraft. This is a part of the world that has six months with 24 hours a day of sunlight.Corporal Marschman spent the last months of his service back in Texas where a couple of the senior non-commissioned officers boasted of retiring and going back to their home state to raise chickens. When Corporal Marschman was before the promotion board to be promoted to sergeant, just prior to getting out of the service, he was asked repeatedly why he did not want to stay in the military. These future chicken farmers along with several commissioned officers were on the promotion board. To keep from repeatedly being asked why he would not stay in the military, Corporal Marchman’s response was, “If all I had to look forward to when I got out of the military was raising a bunch of chickens, I would re-enlist.”Corporal Marschman was the recipient of the National Defense Service Medal and the Good Conduct Medal.Marschman and his wife moved to the Alexandria community where they farmed for the major portion of their working careers. This is where they spent their 50th wedding anniversary. Sadly, Luree passed in 2013.Marschman considers himself to be a man of few words and, except for going to church, he has not been a member of any organizations, with one exception. He was on the Alexandria Rural Fire Board for about 25 years. He was on the board almost a year before anyone told him about his appointment.Marschman moved to Daykin in 2015, where he lives with his son and daughter-in-law. He will be 91 in 2023.

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