My Father, My Hero

To celebrate Veteran’s Day, I can’t think of a better way than to honor one of our WWII veterans. As many of you already know, my own father was a WWII veteran as well as my father-in-law. I love all the stories I can get my hands on from The Greatest Generation. They truly loved America and were willing to sacrifice so much for the love of country, sometimes even their lives. I know we can all appreciate this story of one such veteran, written by Beth Meadows. Our parents were friends. (For the best reading experience, open in your browser.)

My Father, My Hero

By Beth Meadows

My father, Marvin Palmer Martin, was a prisoner of war in WWII in Germany. He was a sergeant, flight engineer, and gunner in the 15^th Army Air Corps, 449^th Bomb Group. He was missing for a while when his plane was shot down over Italy and then imprisoned for over 18 months. When his plane caught on fire, the Bombay doors on the belly of the plane were open, in locked position. His job was to try to put the fire out with the doors open.

After going down, he sought refuge with an Italian family who hid him for about six weeks. But the Germans were coming through, and he had to flee. He was soon captured and sentenced to death because he had pamphlets on him that had been dropped from the plane before it went down. The propaganda pamphlets were written in German and Italian which he and his fellow crew members could not read. They just picked them up along the road to use for toilet paper.

I do not know much about his time in the German prison camp because he did not talk about it much. At some point, the Germans loaded all the prisoners into a freight car on a train. The prisoners believed they were being taken out to be killed. When the train came to a stop, they thought they were doomed. They heard the roaring sounds of tanks coming. When the freight car doors opened, it was General George Patton‘s 3rd Army that freed them.

Upon arriving home he was very thin. The Germans had confiscated his wedding ring. My mother bought him another one. However, he was so thin that he lost it in the dirt while working on the farm. Unbelievably, after the war ended, the Germans sent his first ring back. I wear that ring today next to my wedding band.

My father received no pay while he was missing or in prison. He had to write letter after letter in order to try and receive his back pay of a little over $100.00 per month. After several months going back and forth with the government, they finally agreed to pay him half of the back pay. So, as it turned out, he eventually received $50 a month of the back pay.

Today, I still have the handcuffs my father brought home that the Germans used on him when he was captured.

My father passed away January 11, 1996 of pancreatic cancer. He had suffered stomach issues for years. There is no way to know for sure, but I have always wondered if it was something he ate during the time he was missing or imprisoned. He was always a healthy eater and did not drink or smoke. I do remember something he said about living with the Italian family. They went to a drawer and pulled out a black bird and ate it for their supper.

After my father retired, he attended reunions with his bomb squad buddies. They collected stories for a memory book. What he contributed for the memory book is what I have shared with you. My father was patriotic and loved his country. When my oldest son started school and learned the Pledge of Allegiance, my father told him to never forget that a lot of people had sacrificed and even died for the flag and what it represents.

My father is definitely my hero.

Please feel free to forward this to a friend. To make a comment, scroll to the bottom. I reply to all comments. And let me know if you have a family story to share. You can write it, I can write it, or we can write it together!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Missing in Action telegram sent to Marvin’s wife, Cynthia