03/29/2024
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A very special milestone was celebrated on Monday night as Rusty Marsh was honored for 20 years of service to the Clarkton Fire Department. Marsh joined the Clarkton Fire Department on March 20, 1997.

During that 20 years, Marsh has held almost every position in the department. He has served as Chief, Lieutenant, Captain, firefighter, and in other capacities. He has also served on the Clarkton Rescue Squad and has had Basic EMT and EMT-intermediate certifications as well as Firefighter 1, Firefighter 2, and Rescue Tech to name just a few of his certifications.

“My Dad was a volunteer firefighter in Shelby,” said Marsh. His father served on the Cleveland Volunteer Fire Department which at that time, served a four mile radius around the city of Shelby.  He said his father retired after serving as a volunteer firefighter for 20 years.

Marsh said he joined the Cleveland VFD when he was 16 years old. He said today, they refer to those who volunteer as firefighters and are under the age of 18 as junior members.

In addition to serving as a volunteer firefighter and working as a Civil Engineer with the NC Department of Transportation, Marsh is a Lt Col retired US Army Corps of Engineers, NC Army National Guard. He retired on January 1, 2005.

Marsh enlisted for two years  (April 79    May 81) with the  505th Engineer Battalion (Combat) (Heavy), Shelby, N.C.

His date of commissioned service: ROTC (Distinguished Graduate), 10 May 1981, Early Commission Program, Western Carolina University.

Marsh, who is a Desert Storm veteran, deployed with the US Army 30th Engineer Battalion to Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shield in 1990 as an S-4 logistics. His job while deployed was to make sure the logistical needs were met.

Marsh graduated from NC State University in 1984 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. He served in the Army Reserve/National Guard from 1981-1984 and then served in the US Army from 1985 until 1992. Marsh served in the US Army Reserve until his retirement in 2004.

Marsh also serves as Civil Engineer with the NC Department of Transportation and is also an emergency medical technician and a member of the Clarkton Fire Department. 

He is married to Gail McKee Marsh and they have three children — Kelly Mize, Billy Marsh and Allie Marsh.

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