Veteran physician in Brooklyn reflects on career of service and care
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SOCIETY Veteran physician in Brooklyn reflects on career of service and care CeFaan Kim has the details. WABC By CeFaan Kim Tuesday, November 10, 2026 11:06PM Share BROOKLYN (WABC) -- As Veterans Day approaches, a Brooklyn physician is reflecting on how his military service helped shape a career spent responding to emergencies, from combat deployments to the COVID-19 pandemic and the development of a pediatric trauma center. Dr. John Marshall, chief medical officer at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, said his experience began in the U.S. Air Force, where he deployed to Afghanistan three weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks as a transport emergency medic. "When we ended up in the area around Afghanistan... we were basically at a totally undeveloped site. We had set up tents, created systems to care for patients," Marshall said. "Without a lot of resources, we had to make do with what we had." Marshall's military service prepared him for a career managing crises in the hospital setting, including mass casualty events and the COVID-19 pandemic. "We're setting up tents. We're trying to add 400 beds to the hospital here at Maimonides, 400 beds over our 700 beds. Where are we gonna put those? We don't have enough resources for it, where are we gonna source ventilators?" Marshall said. Marshall said serving the community has remained a guiding principle throughout his career. In 2019, he helped lead the effort to open what is now Brooklyn's only pediatric trauma center. "Kids have different needs. They are not just small adults. The anatomy is different. The physiology is different. The way you respond to a kid is different," Marshall said. Dr. Alexander Arroyo, director of the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Department, said Brooklyn's large child population underscored the need for the facility. "We built the team from the ground up. Hired all the trauma surgeons. Retrained all the staff in trauma in the latest protocols," Arroyo said. "Dr. Marshall was the driving force in actually doing this," Arroyo added. Marshall said his commitment to serving others stems from a principle he learned during his time in the military. "There's a core value in the Air Force which is service before self," he said. ---------- * More Brooklyn news * Send us a news tip * Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts * Download our connected TV app Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply. Report a correction or typo Copyright © 2026 WABC-TV. All Rights Reserved. Related Topics SOCIETY NEW YORK CITY BROOKLYN VETERANS DAY DOCTORS Watch Live ON NOW Suspect in 3 Central Park rapes arrested working at Miami Burger King 1 hour ago Stanley Zabar, co-owner of iconic NYC grocery store, dies at 94 1 hour ago Helicopter pilot made mayday call moments before hard landing on pier 29 minutes ago Coastal low to impact NYC, Tri-State area | Live updates 2 hours ago Loaded gun found in student's locker at Long Island high school 1 hour ago EMTs rescue injured bald eagle from side of the road 2 hours ago Man accused of posing as war hero, stealing $81K from veterans 1 hour ago Grand jury indicts man on murder charge in Katie Suarez's killing 37 minutes ago