Marine of the Year, former firefighter enjoys giving back

NORWALK — U.S. Marine Corps veteran Ron Kearney enjoys being one of the drivers for the Huron County Veteran Service Office.

“I worked for almost five years driving a van for the railroad,” he said.

U.S. Marine Corps veteran Ron Kearney smiles for the camera with Olivia Eggleston, a kindergarten student at Maplehurst Elementary School in Norwalk, during her lunch period. Kearney, who attended Maplehurst as a child, was one of several local veterans who talked to students for Veterans Day. PHOTO BY CARY ASHBY/HCVSO

Kearney, who attended Norwalk High School, obtained his GED when he was at Camp Lejeune. After graduating from boot camp in April 1969, he served in the Marines from February 1969 through February 1973.

To become an equipment mechanic, Kearney went through 28 days of “diesel school.”

Kearney was stationed for 13 months at the Marine Corps Air Station in Iawkuni, Japan.

“When I get out of the Marine Corps at MCAS Una in Arizona, I stayed in Arizona for 43 years. I was a heavy equipment mechanic for different rental outlets and different dealerships. I drove service trucks all over the state of Arizona. I saw the Valley of the Sun, which is (in) the Phoenix area, grow from a little spot to a gargantuan size now and I saw it all grow — I was part of it,” he said.

From 1983 through 1989, Kearney served as a reserve firefighter in a department in the east valley of Maricopa County in Arizona. He said “this was a subscription service” that covered areas of the county without fire service.

“Firefighting was a completely different story (than being in the Marines). People ask me why I would do it and I did it to learn and give, to help the community,” he said.

Most recently, Kearney has been a member of the Elton E. Mackin Detachment #837 of the Marine Corps League for nearly six years. He was elected junior vice commandant, then senior vice commandant and eventually, commandant. In November, the Marine Corps League named Kearney the Marine of the Year.

Devon Payton, a first-grade student at Maplehurst Elementary School in Norwalk, talks with U.S. Marine Corps veteran Ron Kearney, during his lunch period. (PHOTO BY CARY ASHBY/HCVSO

He is in charge of the Marine Corps League scholarship program. High school students with a family member who was in the Marines (retired or honorably discharged) are eligible for the detachment scholarships.

“It’s also available to Marines who have a handicap who want to get more education,” Kearney said.

The camaraderie with Marines his age has made his Marine Corps League experience special. Kearney said one of the challenges is getting younger people involved.

“Our detachment is not that big, but the more we get in, the more fun we can have,” he said. “We help our needy Marine veteran families when they need it, especially around the holidays and of course, through hard times — and that’s the way most of the service clubs are.”