John W. Marshall
Era: Persian Gulf
Military Branch: Army
John W. Marshall of Duluth, Minnesota enlisted in the Army on Dec. 26, 1988.
He was a corporal and was serving in Germany when the Berlin Wall fell.
When the Persian Gulf War began his unit, the First Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment, Second Armored Division, was sent to the Middle East, where it was involved in the ground offensive against Iraq. On Feb. 27, 1991, only 18 hours before the cease-fire, two Bradley Fighting Vehicles became separated from others in the unit. Shortly after capturing Iraqi soldiers, the U.S. troops, including Marshall, came under "friendly fire" because of a mistaken identity.
Marshall and two other members of his unit were wounded and one was killed.
Marshall, who won the Purple Heart, received a medical discharge later in 1991.
