AUSTIN — Today, Texas Land Commissioner and Veterans Land Board (VLB) Chairwoman Dawn Buckingham, M.D., is proud to introduce the next installment of the series highlighting the VLB's Voices of Veterans oral history program. This week, we highlight the service of Corporal Keifer Marshall who served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the historic Battle of Iwo Jima.
Marshall was born and raised in Temple, Texas. After graduating high school, he attended the University of Texas on a football scholarship for a year before joining the Marine Corps in 1944 at age 18. He went through boot camp in San Diego, which he proclaimed was “one of the most defining moments” in his life.
After completing boot camp, Marshall was sent overseas and participated in an infantry sweep in Guam. He was then told he would be going to another island to fight. He recalled, “We were told we were gonna go somewhere, we wouldn’t be gone long, and we probably wouldn’t be involved. We got on a ship and helped load it. They told us we were going to Iwo Jima, and I never heard of Iwo Jima. Nobody on there had heard much of it.”
Marshall fought in the historic battle of Iwo Jima with the Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines. He described a war zone that he was lucky to survive, saying, “I’ve always told my wife I just happened to be in the best time and place where a shell didn’t hit because they hit everywhere. There were very few who made it all the way through there with us.”
Soon, Marshall and members of his unit were cut off by Japanese forces and spent a harrowing 36 hours separated from the American troops. Marshall recalled that his Captain, Captain Obanyan, was determined to save as many men as possible and called for tanks to come and get them out.
“He took the rest of us, a mighty few of us, and took those that we had left, and we were in a shell hole. The tanks got up there and helped us get out […], but we were surrounded. That’s the way it was on Iwo Jima most of the time. When you’d take 100 yards of ground, they were behind you and on each side of you. You’d take the people in front, but they were everywhere, and they were all underground.”
Later, when the men were reunited with the rest of the troops and dug in for the night, Captain Obanyan went to each man and ensured they were accounted for and had something to eat. Marshall recalled that the following morning, “Captain Obanyan was lying in the bottom of his foxhole and couldn’t move. His eyes opened; he just had complete combat fatigue. So, they had to take him off, and I think he got the Navy Cross for what he had done that day.”
When the American Flag was raised on Mount Suribachi, Marshall saw it and described an emotional scene, saying, “It was a great experience. Every guy got out of what they were doing and looked at it. All the ships blew their horns, their whistles, and it was euphoric.”
Marshall admitted that he never returned to the Island of Iwo Jima, which he said he prayed so hard to leave. His friends who returned told him how beautiful it had become, but Marshall vividly remembered what it was like to fight and almost die there, recalling, “When we were there, it was just blown to hell everywhere, and we had so many, so many people that were killed and wounded. It didn’t make any difference where you were; you were in harm’s way.”
After the war, Marshall attended several Marine Corps reunions and remained grateful for the men he fought alongside, acknowledging, “You really learn to depend on the guy on your left and the guy on your right. If it hadn’t been for all those people on my right and left, I wouldn’t be here, and hopefully, I helped save some other people like that.”
After his service, Marshall returned home to his loving wife whom he had been married to for 86 years at the time of his interview. He also returned to the University of Texas to play football and finish his degree. While still enjoying the sport, he noticed a change within himself.
“I didn’t have my heart in it like I did before. Any experience like that doesn’t take anything out of you. I don’t mean that, but it changes your perspective on things, so it was different, and I was in love, so that’s always a different thing, too. I’ve been so fortunate all my life and just lucky to be here.”
Marshall graduated in 1950, returned to Temple, and started his own insurance business. He also served on the city council for 10 years and served two terms as Mayor of Temple.
To listen to Corporal Keifer Marshall tell his story, click the button below:
Corporal Keifer Marshall's Story
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Veterans can email VoicesofVeterans@glo.texas.gov to tell their stories. Please note that the Veteran must be a resident of Texas at the time of their interview.
Voices of Veterans is a state agency's first Veteran oral history program. It records the stories of Texas Veterans through their time in service and after returning home from combat.
The VLB records interviews with Veterans over the phone or in person. Their interviews are then permanently archived in the Office of Veterans Records at the GLO, where they join the historical documents of other Texas heroes such as Sam Houston, Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, and William Barret Travis.
Veterans' interviews are also available to researchers, historians, genealogists, and the public. These precious records inspire future generations and remind us of our Veterans' sacrifices.
To listen to the over 500 archived stories of Veterans documented through the GLO's Voices of Veterans oral history program, click the button below: