J.M. KALIL
Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal

Bob Marsh, a World War II veteran wounded in the Battle of the Bulge, died Sunday while serving as a volunteer firefighter in the Cal Nev Ari Fire Department. He was 78.

Marsh suffered a fatal heart attack about 8:30 p.m. Sunday while responding to a report of traffic accident on U.S. Highway 95 just across the California border.

His death marks the first on-duty death for a member of the Clark County Fire Department in more than 25 years.

Department Chief Earl Greene announced Wednesday night that department flags will be flown at half-staff and firefighters will shroud their badges for 30 days in remembrance of Marsh.

"It was a helluva loss for a rinky-dink little volunteer department like ours," said Jack McClintock, chief of Cal Nev Ari's Station 84.

The small town, 70 miles south of Las Vegas, has an 18-member volunteer department. Marsh was the sole member of Squad 1-84.

"It's supposed to be a four-man squad, but he was the captain, the engineer, the firefighter and the CPR-certified first responder," McClintock said.

Born Aug. 4, 1923, in Michigan, Marsh enlisted in the Army shortly after the United States entry into World War II. He fought on the Western Front and was wounded at the Battle of the Bulge, McClintock said.

After the war, he moved to Illinois. He worked as an ambulance driver and a movie theater projectionist before joining TransAmerica Insurance. He worked for the company for 31 years before retiring to Southern Nevada, McClintock said.

Services are private, but Marsh's fellow firefighters are planning a public memorial for early November.