Hometown Patriot: Active-duty Air Force senior master sergeant serving in his hometown

By BILL LUNN

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    BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, Louisiana (KTBS) — Senior Master Sgt. Charles Marshall grew up in Bossier City, graduating from Bossier High School. He currently serves in the Air Force in his hometown.

Marshall says military service runs deep in his family and that’s why he decided to join. When he was a kid he would always look up at the sky at B-52s screaming overhead.

“Growing up, I was always fascinated with the B-52, watching them flyover. I definitely wanted to experience working on it,” Marshall said.

It’s a dream that came true. And more than two decades later, Marshall still loves to watch the Stratofortress as it flies overhead.

“Every time I watch them fly over, my wife says, ‘There you go again, looking at the planes.’ Yeah, that’s my baby,” Marshall said.

He calls them his baby, though he also has a wife and three daughters.

it’s Marshall’s job to make sure the big bombers have the weapons they need properly fitted and secured. in addition to the B-52.

“I would be out on the flight line making sure the weapons systems are 100%,” Marshall said. “When the pilots need training on weapons, we get those weapons loaded up, and they go out to the range and drop them and they come back and we take care of them again.”

Marshall has also worked on other aircraft like the F-15, F-16, F-22, and the A-10. He also deployed to Guam and completed three tours in Korea.

And while he’s now in his 21st year in the Air Force, it was a decision he almost regretted when he arrived at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio for basic training.

“It was an experience like none other, I’ll tell you that much. When I first got there, I regretted going. But once I got into it, everything was ok,” Marshall said.

Now he’s reached the high-ranking enlisted grade of E-8. What made him want to join in the first place?

“I come from a line of military,” Marshall said. “My grandfather, my father, my sister, most recently my little nephew he joined the Army. Watching my father take care of us, take care of the family, provide for us, I felt the military could do the same for me and for my family.”

Most of those who serve in the military get shipped far from home, often overseas. but Marshall is serving just minutes from where he grew up.

“I look at it as a blessing, being able to be around family. The kids being around their grandparents and growing up with their cousins, I see that as a blessing. Being able to serve in my community and my nation at the same time, that’s definitely a blessing for me,” Marshall said.

With the 4th of July just ahead, what does patriotism mean to Marshall?

“It allows us to praise the freedoms that we are afforded, that a lot of countries aren’t afforded,” Marshall said. “It gives us that time to get with family to get together and enjoy the fireworks and have a good time and just enjoy the freedom.”

Marshall will mark 21 years in the Air Force this November. He is technically eligible for retirement, but he said that his plan is to continue serving his country.

“As long as they allow me, I will continue to serve,” he said.

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