Greybull’s Marshall Is Honored As AARP Wyoming’s Hero Of The Game

CHEYENNE - Greybull’s Travis Marshall still remembers the evening of Sept. 11, 2001, and the impact it had on his life. Just a few months after graduating from Greybull High, he found himself sitting in a Lander hotel room after a day in the oilfield when the images of 9/11 brought him to action.

“I had joined the Wyoming National Guard before I graduated and was going to go to basic training later that summer,” Marshall said. “In my hotel room that night, I decided I was going to switch from the National Guard to active duty. I left in 2001 and remained on active duty for 21 years.”

Along the way, Marshall spent a career in special forces and became a green beret before retiring from the Army on Dec. 1, 2021, as an E7 Sergeant First Class.

As a thank you for his sacrifice for our nation, AARP Wyoming honored Marshall as the Hero of The Game at The University of Wyoming’s football game against Utah State on Oct. 26. Marshall and his family were given free tickets to the game, parking passes, dinner, and Marshall himself was honored on the field during the game. This will be the first time Marshall ever attended a college football game, despite being a lifelong Cowboy fan.

“I was slightly overwhelmed by it all, but in a good way,” he said. “From the very beginning to the very end the hospitality you and all those involved provided was amazing and made us feel special.”

Marshall’s family got to the game three hours ahead of gametime, spent time in the hospitality areas of Learfield Broadcasting, and Cheyenne Regional Medical Center before being honored in the second quarter of the game. Marshall took to the field, while a video of his military accomplishments was shown. He then waved to the crowd to a standing ovation, shook hands with well-wishers on the way off the field. He was then the guest of Cheyenne resident Jonathan Downing and fellow military veteran Scott Fox in the Wildcatter Suites above War Memorial Stadium for the rest of the game.

“It was an emotional night for me,” said Marshall. “The outpouring of appreciation from all the strangers at the game was, again, overwhelming, but graciously accepted. It’s always awkward for a veteran when they are told ‘thank you for your service.’ We oftentimes don't know what to say back. To us it was just a job. A job most of us would do again in a heartbeat.”

Marshall spent his youth in Casper and Greybull, graduating from Greybull High School in 2001 after playing football and basketball for the Buffalos. Marshall became a 92R, parachute rigger where he started a 21-year career jumping out of airplanes for the Army - the last five of which he qualified to do free fall jumps from up to 16,000 feet.

After three years as a parachute rigger at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Marshall was sent to Korea and was selected for the special forces qualification course. That led to a career as a Green Beret, spending the bulk of his career with the 10th Special Forces Group based at Fort Carson, Colo. where he was also a qualified sniper and a jumpmaster.

During his career, Marshall served two combat deployments in Iraq, three in Afghanistan, and one to Ukraine. That is in addition to other missions that took place around the world. For his service, Marshall received a litany of decorations including two bronze stars, six army commendation medals, one joint service commendation medal, one army commendation medal for combat, three army achievement medals, a distinguished service medal, two NATO medals, an Afghanistan campaign ribbon with three stars, an Iraq campaign ribbon with two starts, a national defense service medal, six army good conduct medals, a combat infantry badge and an expert badge. He survived multiple IED explosions, suffered two traumatic brain injuries as well as shoulder dislocations in combat.

“Thankfully, I am alive and can do the things I love, but I do live with survivor's guilt.”

Today, Marshall lives near Greybull with his wife, Schuyler and their children Shawn and Ember. They have a grown daughter, Chloe, who lives in Texas. Marshall’s service is now directed to fellow veterans through Combat Warriors, Inc., a volunteer non-profit founded in North Carolina that offers veterans a quality outdoor experience they will never forget. This year, Marshall will set up and execute nine hunts in Wyoming for retired military veterans. Marshall took a deep sea fishing trip with Combat Warriors, Inc. in 2013 and soon became a volunteer for the organization helping with anything from cooking to doing dishes for other veteran fishing trips. He later asked Combat Warriors, Inc. if he could start a Wyoming chapter and hosted his first hunt in 2020 for two veterans, a hunt that he funded himself. Five years later, he outfits for around nine hunts a year through Combat Warriors, Inc.

“The brotherhood and camaraderie you get through the military is unlike any other organization,” Marshall said. “You are living, breathing, and fighting with people from all over the country that you never would have met. We’re shoved into a situation where we know each other better than we do our family in some respects. These hunts we do now, we call outdoor therapy. We speak the same language. Most of the important stuff we do and the outdoor healing happens in camp when we are sitting around the campfire.”

AARP and Military, Veterans, and Their Families

AARP has more than 3 million veterans in its membership and has made issues facing veterans, military members, and their families a priority. To that end, the organization has produced a free military caregiving handbook available by clicking here. The guide offers helpful resources and caregiving checklists, facts about veteran and military caregivers, and five key issues to address in your caregiving journey.

AARP also offers the free Watchdog Alert Veterans Addition guide, which is available by clicking here. The guide outlines the fact 1-in-3 current or former military members have been targeted by disability or benefit scams and how veterans and military families can avoid being scammed. More free resources can be found at aarp.org/veterans.