U.S. Army Air Corps Maj. William Marshall --- the highest ranking Lucas Countyan to give up his life while in service to his country during World War II --- apparently was endowed with a sort of brilliance that seemed to streak across the sky as he traversed it.
Only 26 when death came as the military transport he was piloting crashed on or near the Palel Airfield in Manipur, India, on the 30th of January 1945, he had shot up through the ranks at a time when much was demanded of the nation's young --- and given unhesitatingly.
Today, his remains rest beneath a slightly chipped and discolored marble government-issue tombstone near the graves of his parents in the Chariton Cemetery with a broken flag holder next to it.
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This young man's death was reported as follows in his hometown newspaper, The Chariton Leader, on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 1945:
Major William Marshall, 26, son of Mr. and Mrs. Adam Marshall, Chariton, has been killed in India. Details, other than it occurred on January 30, have not been received. The parents received the telegram Sunday.
Major Marshall has had a brilliant career in the Army. He enlisted as a private in August, 1940, and was sent to Chanute Field, Ill., where he began his training in the Army Air Corps. Due to his outstanding record there he was sent to M.I.T. at Boston, Mass., for training in aeronautics and then to Parks Air College, East St. Louis, Ill.
Following his graduation he went to Goodfellows Field, San Angelo, Texas, and later to Kelley Field, San Antonio, Texas, where he received his wings and commission as a second lieutenant on March 7, 1942.
He was first sent to Panama and later to Latin and South America, where he was on duty. In August, 1942, he was promoted to first lieutenant. He was then brought back to the States as an instructor and worked in nearly all the major air fields in the country in this capacity. He was made a captain on August 1, 1943.
His last station in the United States was in Louisville, Ky., and from there he was sent into the Pacific war zone in August, 1944. He was made a major on October 1, 1944, and has been serving in India.
Surviving, besides the parents, are two brothers, Marvin, a chief electrician, who is now at sea, and Adam Jr., a gunner 2nd class, on a PC boat in the South Pacific. Also five sisters, Mrs. Alice Frye and Mrs. Betty Leeper, Stuart, Fla., Mrs. Margaret Romine, Chariton, Ruth and Connie, at home.
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William, whose father was a coal miner, was born on July 27, 1918, in the Monroe County mining town of Hiteman. His parents, Adam and Ruth, followed work in the mines to Lucas County in 1927, first to Williamson and and then into Chariton during 1934.
As the mining industry began to fade during World War II, Adam went to work in 1944 for the Chariton Police Department and was named police chief in 1953.
William was a 1936 graduate of Chariton High School and also attended Chariton Junior College before war reshaped, then claimed, his life.
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Major Marshall's remains were repatriated to the United States three years after his death and buried in the Chariton Cemetery on June 9, 1948, with members of Carl L. Caviness Post No 102, American Legion, officiating.
The Chariton Leader of June 8 reported, "The body of the fallen airman was returned to this country about two weeks ago and arrived in Chariton Sunday night, from Kansas City. Major Marshall was killed in action in India on January 30, 1945. He had enlisted in 1940 and had seen much distinguished service and action during his career."
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