John Whitson Marr was born on May 1, 1918, in Johnson County, Missouri. He was the second child of John Keeney Marr and Golda (Perry) Marr and was raised near Warrensburg on the family farm. He graduated from Training High. He was drafted into the Army during WWII and became a paratrooper with the 507th PIR. He jumped into Normandy on D-Day where he led a platoon at the Battle of the La Fiere Causeway, in what has been called one of the costliest small-unit actions in US Army history. A memorial service was held this year on Feb. 7 in Amfreville, France, to honor him. He made his second combat jump in the Battle of the Bulge. He returned to the U.S. in September 1945, and married Willa Fae Rumans, formerly from Versailles, Mo., in October. They decided to stay in the Army, settling in their first duty station at Fort Benning, Ga., followed by several more duty stations including: Germany; Fort Knox KY; Leavenworth, Kan.; Korea (without the family); back to Fort Benning; Fort Rucker, Ala. (earning his aviator wings); Carlisle Barracks, Pa. (graduating from the U.S. Army War College); Fort Wolters, Texas,(where he learned to fly helicopters); Arlington, Va., assigned to the Aviation Directorate in the Army General Staff at the Pentagon as Chief of the Plans and Programs Division; Vietnam commanding the 17th Combat Aviation group; and back to Arlington where he served as Deputy for Army Aviation. He retired and was called back to active duty to chair a Congressional Joint Service Study on flight pay legislation for the Department of Defense. Col. Marr officially retired in 1974 in Arlington, Va. with 32-plus years of service.
During his career he was decorated with the Army Distinguished Service Medal, two Silver Stars, two Legions of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, three Bronze Stars, nine Air Medals, the Purple Heart and the Army commendation Medal. He was a Combat Infantryman, Master Parachutist, Senior Army Aviator and recipient of numerous campaign and service medals. He was decorated by the governments of Great Britain, France, Republic of Korea and Republic of Vietnam. He was inducted into the Infantry Officer Candidate Hall of Fame and the Army Aviation Hall of Fame. While at various duty stations he took college courses and earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
During his retirement, he and Willa built their dream house in Arlington, Va., where they lived for several years. He was a long time Kiwanian and Meals On Wheels volunteer. They moved to Mill Creek, Wash., in 2012 to be near their daughters.
Marr died on January 19, 2015, at the age of 96. He attained his highest rank in the military as Colonel. He is now buried in the Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia.
Source of information: www.findagrave.com