Clarence Talmage Marsh, Jr. – Colonel, United states Army

From a contemporary press report:

Clarence T. (“Swampy”) Marsh Jr., Colonel, U.S. Army Retired, died on May 4, 2001 following a brief illness. He had been a Hampton resident since 1970. Colonel Marsh was born on September 20, 1916, in Savannah, Georgia, the son of Colonel and Mrs. Clarence T. Marsh, Sr., Coast Artillery, U.S. Army. He was raised throughout the United States as his family moved from one assignment to another, primarily along the East Coast.

A graduate of the United States Military Academy, Class of 1940, Colonel Marsh was commissioned a Second Lieutenant, following his Father into the Coast Artillery. After a Battery Officers Course at Fort Monroe, he was assigned to the 62nd Coast Artillery (AA) at Fort Totten, New York. The unit was transferred in January 1941 to the Newfoundland (Canada) Base Command, St John’s, where he met and married his wife of 59 years, the former June Russell, daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Hazen A. Russell.

Upon return to the United States in January, 1944, he attended the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and the Air-Ground Liaison Officers Course at Key Field, Meridian, Mississippi, from which he was assigned to the G-3 section, HQ Sixth US Army, Luzon, the Philippines. Colonel Marsh remained with the Sixth US Army in the early occupation of Japan. Later, he was transferred to GHQ, Far East Command, serving on General MacArthur’s staff in Tokyo in the G-1 Section.

Upon return to the United States in 1947, he served two years in the Artillery Section of HQ, First US Army, Governors Island, New York, and then four years as an Instructor at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Another overseas tour sent him to Panama in 1953, where he served in the G-3 Section of HQ, U. S. Army, Caribbean, and a subsequent assignment as the Commander of an Artillery Battalion and Commanding Officer, Fort W.D. Davis, Canal Zone.

With the change from Coast Artillery to Air Defense Artillery, Colonel Marsh spent his next tour at Ft Bliss, (El Paso) Texas, with assignments at both the Air Defense Center and the Air Defense Board. As Chief, Missile Systems Test Section, he supervised test groups performing service tests for the Nike Hercules, Hawk, and Red Eye Missile Systems, including target drones.

Again returning to field duty, he became the Defense Commander,  St. Louis Area Defense, in 1961. This Command included the First Missile Battalion, Nike Hercules, of the unit of his first military assignment, the 62nd (now Air Defense) Artillery. In 1963 he joined the Korean Military Advisory Group (KMAG) where he was the G-4 Advisor to the First Republic of Korea Army, Won Ju, Korea.

His final military assignment was in West Germany, where he served in NATO as the Surface Air Missile Staff Officer of the Fourth Tactical Air Force, Borfink. Upon return to the United States for retirement at Fort Monroe, Virginia, where he had started his career 30 years before, Colonel Marsh had served five overseas assignments, and had been awarded the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, and the US Army Commendation Medal with two Oak Leaf clusters. A final recognition of the dedicated service of Col. Marsh came in 1989 with his appointment as the Honorary Colonel (HCOR), 62nd Air Defense Artillery, to help perpetuate the history and traditions of the Regiment.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Colonel Clarence T. Marsh and Pearl Burden Marsh, his sister, Marion M. Roberts, and his son, Major Clarence T. Marsh, III, United States Air Force. Colonel Marsh is survived by his wife, June; his daughter, Major Susan M. Glicoes USAR, Ret, and her husband, Lieutenant Colonel Laurence A. Glicoes, USA Ret; his daughter- in law, Ann L.S. Marsh; and six grandchildren. A funeral service will be conducted, 2:30 PM Friday, May 11, at the Chapel of the Centurion by Chaplain Lieuenant Colonel C. David Reese. Interment with full military honors will be 1:00 PM Monday, May 21, in Arlington National Cemetery. The family requests in lieu of flowers, any expressions of sympathy take the form of contributions to the West Point Association of Graduates, West Point, NY 10996-1611 or your favorite charity.

MARSH, CLARENCE TALMAGE JR
COL   US ARMY
DATE OF BIRTH: 09/20/1916
DATE OF DEATH: 05/04/2001
BURIED AT: SECTION 10  SITE 10791-A
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard