Tip 710: Honoring Veterans

For Veterans Day: Private First Class James “Pee Wee” Martin

James “Pee Wee” Martin has died. He died on Sunday, September 18th, 2022.

He was 101 years old.

He was a veteran.

He was one of the first paratroopers to jump into Normandy on June 6th, 1944. He was part of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (the “Band of Brothers”) and the 101st Airborne Division. He was nineteen years old at the time.

His unit’s objective was to capture two bridges to prevent the Germans from sending reinforcements to the beaches.

He had joined the Army after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He ended up at Camp Toccoa, Georgia, where he trained to be a new kind of soldier, a paratrooper. He got a new nickname: "Pee Wee" for his small stature.

He survived D-Day. Three months later, he jumped into occupied Holland during Operation Market Garden. Three months after that, he found himself surrounded by Nazis at the Battle of the Bulge. He fought his way into Germany and helped capture the Berghof, Adolf Hitler's private home.

He said that his goal after the war—if he survived—was to find a plot of land, settle down and live a quiet life. When he came home, he found that plot of land in Sugarcreek Township, Ohio. He married Donna, his sweetheart, and they stayed married for seventy-three years.   

When the plans for Pee Wee’s funeral were announced, five hundred active-duty paratroopers from the 101st Airborne Division came from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, to attend his services.

To honor.

To respect.

To remember.

And, when you think about it, that’s what today’s all about.