Hank Marshall has been floored a couple of times this year.
The first time was when he learned the meeting room at Veterans Hall had been renamed in his honor.
“They had a large projector screen for PowerPoint and they moved it aside and here is this beautiful sign already bolted to the wall that said, ‘Hank Marshall Hall,’ and I thought, ‘Oh my God, is this ever a burden to carry. What if I let somebody down? What if three years from now somebody says who made that decision? Wow,’” said Marshall, a Vietnam veteran.
Marshall is not one to take compliments. “You have to live up to them, you know?” he said with a laugh.
Not long after that surprise, the Brown County Commissioners declared July 3, 2019, Hank Marshall Day.
“That’s not so bad, because midnight rolls around and that goes away. If they made a mistake there, tomorrow they can proclaim something else,” he said.
“I just like Brown County so darn much, and I think so highly of all of us, that it’s a real honor to have something in Brown County named after me. To me, that’s a big deal.”
The second time Marshall was floored was when it was announced that he was going to be inducted to the Indiana Military Veterans Hall of Fame this year.
“I don’t know if I earned it or deserved it or not. I don’t know if you deserve things or not; you just very gracefully take them, accept them and appreciate what comes your way,” he said.
Marshall joins the ranks of well-known Hoosier veterans, like wartime journalist Ernie Pyle and the 23rd president of the United States, Benjamin Harrison, who have also been inducted.
Dave Pate nominated Marshall for the induction in July. Pate is the veterans outreach, support liaison and office manager for the local veterans service office.
“We didn’t tell Hank we had nominated him,” Pate said.
“I said, ‘Oh, by the way, ta-da …’ He was shocked. Hank is not normally speechless, but he was.”
Marshall had been ill, causing him to step down from some of his volunteering earlier this year, so the local veterans service office wanted to get his nomination sent in quickly, “so, he could witness it if he was accepted to be inducted,” Pate said.
Marshall and eight of his closest friends attended the induction ceremony on Nov. 8 in Lawrence.
“It’s overwhelming. It’s really overwhelming when they do something to this elevated extent,” Marshall said of the ceremony.
“I absolutely enjoyed myself. I had lots of friends support me. … I said, ‘You don’t have to; I can get through this thing on my own quite nicely.’ But (they said) ‘We want to be there.’”
That means a lot to Marshall. “When I was working, I was busy all the time — busy, busy, busy. I didn’t have time to slow down and smell the roses or experience things. Then I retired, and I said, ‘This is my time now,’” Marshall said.
“I started having friends,” he continued with a laugh.
“And I realized, people really liked me. I didn’t have time to slow down before and realize it.”
Pate announced the news of Marshall’s Hall of Fame induction at the Veterans Day program at Brown County High School last week. He had Marshall stand up to be recognized to a round of applause from the crowd. The Brown County High School History Club presented Marshall with a commemorative gift.
“Hank doesn’t want to be called or recognized as a ‘hero.’ He just wants veterans to be happy with their service to our nation,” Pate said during the program on Nov. 11.
“He has, and continues to, inspire us with his love for others, his commitment to our mission and even with his health issues that would have stopped most of us, Hank just keeps smiling and encouraging others.”
Helping vets
The Indiana Military Veterans Hall of Fame memorial building was opened in 2018. The 501c3 organization was founded in 2013.
The organization’s objective is “to publicly emphasize the honor brought to our state and nation by the sacrifice of Indiana military veterans and their families,” the website states.
Only 99 servicemen and women who have been honored since 2014.
Along with Pyle, who was a Naval Reserve Seaman and a Purple Heart recipient, and former President Harrison, Col. Donald Moreau is also honored there. Moreau received six Sagamore of the Wabash awards.
Maj. Charles Hall also is included. He was a member of the now-famous Tuskegee Airmen. Women’s Airforce Service Pilot Jeanne Norbeck was the only civilian woman in World War II to receive a full military funeral.
Marshall’s military career is not one without awards and recognition. He served 30 years in the military. He flew helicopter missions during his time in Vietnam.
The Vietnam conflict had been going for years in late 1967 when Marshall joined the Army. He was shipped to Fort Knox, Kentucky, for basic training. He became an Army captain who received the Bronze Star, Air Medals, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Army Commendation Medals and a Good Conduct Medal.
Pate had to provide documentation for all of Marshall’s awards as part of the nomination process.
“I’ve got rewarded for doing something I wanted to do anyways, and for something I got paid for all along, too,” Marshall said.
“… I said, ‘Are you sure you got the right guy? Is there another Henry ‘Hank’ Marshall you ought to be looking at?’” he said with a laugh.
After active duty, Marshall served in the reserves with the Kentucky and Indiana national guards. He also worked as a police officer and probation officer. He retired in 2011 as a charter bus driver.
In his nomination letter, Pate mentioned Marshall’s advocacy for veterans, especially focusing on their mental health. He trained and received certification at the VA Hospital in Indianapolis to provide support for post-traumatic stress disorder — an issue many veterans face today. He became a Vet to Vet coordinator, a support group for veterans. He also served on the VA Hospital’s Veterans Mental Health Advisory Council.
The overall welfare of veterans is important to Marshall.
“A lot of people are not happy. They don’t feel good and they don’t know why. It is a mental health thing. Something isn’t in balance. You can know what it is, or you can have it without knowing what it is,” he said.
Marshall thinks back to years ago when he was 34 and he felt as if his life had been put in balance for the first time.
“I just want everybody to feel that freedom and that bliss of a happy, happy life. It sounds kind of corny and it takes a little effort sometimes, and sometimes you have to discover some stuff about yourself. You have to dig down deep and say, ‘Why don’t I feel good?’” he said.
“I know it can be done, and I want to be there if I can do something for somebody. If I can’t, I want to stay out of their way and not bother them.”
Marshall did not grow up in a military family, but he has a military family here now in Brown County who is making sure he gets the recognition he deserves.
“Am I flattered? Very much so. I hope I do deserve it, live up to it and I hope I don’t let anybody down,” he said.
Marshall puts being inducted into this hall of fame on the same level of having the Veterans Hall room named after him.
“The hall of fame, that’s a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful honor, but Brown County, this is our county. … To have the meeting hall out there dedicated in my name is a big deal.”
