A World War II veteran known throughout Northeast Georgia and the world will be remembered in upcoming memorial services.
James H. “Pee Wee” Martin, 101, died peacefully in his sleep at his Ohio home on Sept. 11, Patriots Day.
A renowned World War II veteran, he was one of the last remaining “Toccoa Originals” of 1942.
Memorial services for Martin will be in Bellbrook, Ohio, beginning with visitation there from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20, and a celebration of life following at 7:15.
On Sept. 21, an escort will begin at 9 a.m. at the Sugarcreek Administration Building in Bellbrook and travel to Dayton National Cemetery.
Martin enlisted in the Army in June 1942, and trained and served in the 101st Airborne Division, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion/G Company from 1942-1945.
In July 1942, he was one of 6,500 men to arrive at Currahee Mountain near Toccoa for training as a new type of soldier – a paratrooper. He was one of Colonel Sink’s original “Toccoa Men”, who were preparing to defend the free world from the German offensive that was World War II.
He was one of the first enlisted men to complete Jump School at Fort Benning.
Being the lightest man in the regiment he was given the nickname “Pee Wee”, a moniker he considered a badge of respect.
Martin participated in three pivotal battles of the war: Operation Overlord – the battle of Normandy, France (D-Day, June 6, 1944); Operation Market Garden, Holland (September 17, 1944) and The Ardennes Offensive, Belgium (Battle of the Bulge, Dec. 16, 1944).
Martin parachuted into Normandy, landing near Saint-Come-du-Mont behind Utah Beach at 12:30 a.m. on June 6, 1944, fighting in the Normandy campaign for 33 days until the 101st Airborne returned to England in July.
He was wounded in the ankle on Sept. 25, 1944, and he received treatment before fighting in Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, where he suffered non-freezing cold injuries.
The 101st Airborne Division ended their war by occupying Eagle’s Nest, Adolph Hitler’s mountain home in Bavaria, in 1945.
Being a “high point man”, Martin shipped home in September 1945.
After the war, Martin returned to the tool manufacturing industry. He married Donna V. Veverka, of Newton, Iowa in 1946. Shortly after, they purchased 52 acres of land in Sugarcreek Township, Greene County, Ohio where they hand built their dream home. They raised five children. After nearly 73 years of marriage, Donna Martin passed away in 2019.
Martin first returned to Toccoa in 2002 for the 60th anniversary reunion, returning several times after.
“Each visit brings back special memories of a time in my life that would have a greater effect on me than I could have imagined at the time,” Martin posted on his Facebook page in June.
Over the years, he helped keep history alive by attending many speaking engagements and traveling to events commemorating the war and celebrating freedom, such as the anniversaries of D-Day in Normandy, France, and Market Garden in Holland. At the ages of 93 and 98, respectively, Martin recreated his jumps in those historic engagements of WWII.
At age 99, Martin made his last jump in October of 2020 at an event sponsored by the Round Canopy Parachute Team USA in Palatka, Fla.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to the Greene County Community Foundation, Jim "Pee Wee " Martin Memorial, 941 West Second Street, Xenia, OH 45385, or online at greenegiving.org.
