Members of the Bear Valley Detachment 1038 of the U.S. Marine Corps—Steve Schindler, Joe Haeckel and Jerry Kinney—were present at this week’s CSD meeting, to honor one of their fellow veterans. As Schindler pointed out in a presentation recognizing Chief Master Sergeant Noel Mark Furniss, “It is not often that we get to recognize someone with this much service.” It was in February of this year that Furniss retired from 34 years of military service, in a career that has included countless medals and honors while he served in the U.S. Marine Corps, the Air Force and the U.S. Coast Guard. Furniss officially retired in a February ceremony at Shaw Air Force Base but, as his family was unable to be there, he was honored at the March 16 Community Services District meeting—though Furniss was unable to be present for the unanimous proclamation in his honor, as he was on duty as a deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Both Chief Master Sergeant Furniss and his family (including wife Cheryl, dubbed “the real hero in all this,” per Schindler) will be in attendance for a local ceremony recognizing his retirement and career with three branches of the military. This is scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 11 at 1pm; local and state officials are expected for the ceremony to be held at the BBARWA building at 121 Palomino Drive in Big Bear City.
