Meet PFC Keifer Marshall, Jr

Honor Flight Fort Worth will be taking 2 flights in October to Washington, DC to visit the WWII Memorial. The flights will be on October 10 and October 16 on American Airlines out of DFW International Airport. Each flight will have 26-27 WWII veterans and their guardians. We still need donations for our October 16 flight!

Meet PFC Keifer Marshall, Jr

PFC Keifer Marshal, Jr served in the USMC during WWII, Third Marine Division, 9th Regiment, F Company, 2nd Battalion, and was a rifleman. In February and March of 1945 he was involved in the bloodiest battle in the history of the United States Marine Corps, The Battle of Iwo Jima. During this battle his company was cut off from reinforcements and supplies for 36 hours, and out of of the 250 men in his company, he was one of three or four who survived - all others were killed. The casualties incurred by the F Company were the severest of the entire campaign.

This picture was chosen by the USMC as one of the 5 photographs to go into history books about the Third Marine Division to depict the Battle of Iwo Jima. Keifer remembered the photographer asking them their name and serial number after the picture was taken. But, as the photographer ran away, a shell exploded where he was and both men thought the photographer had been killed.  Both Keifer and Griffin (the other man in the foxhole) thought the other had been killed in action. They did not know each other -- had only jumped into the same foxhole during the battle and neither had seen each other or the picture until the Marine Corps invited them to Washington on the 25th Anniversary of the battle.

Caption: Defense Dept Photo (Marine Corps)
3/45  Photog: Sgt Bob Cooke
STEAM HEATED FOX HOLE IN A PACIFIC HOT SPOT-Two Marines in a hole hastily dug from smoking sulphur rook (note mine and refinery in background) stand ready to repel Japanese snipers, many of them in Marine uniform. Left to right: Pvt Robert K. Marshall, 991007, and Cpl Allen L. Griffin, 462189.