Martin, John William “Johnny”.

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Martin, John William “Johnny”, born 12-05-1922, in Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio, United States the son of  William McCarhty Martin and his wife Esther, born McComby, Martin. John was a railroad worker for most of his early life. John was always industrious, working several jobs while attending high school. Upon graduation from North High in Columbus, John enlisted in the Army. John married a woman named Pat Mary Mantel, and famous airborntrooper William,”Wild Bill” Guarnere,

Guarnere, William J ”Wild Bill”. fellow Easy Company soldier and a good friend of Martin, was his best man. He was selected to be and trained as an original member of the elite paratropper group, Company E 506th Easy Company” of the 101st Airborne, which was honored in the HBO tv series “Band of Brothers.”  John trained at Camp Toccoa, Georgia ,

He and the company were sent to Aldbourne, England, to await Operation Overlord

. A little bit before the invasion, his wife sent him a letter about the death of Bill Guarnere’s brother. In Upottery, England, the night before the invasion of Normandy, Guarnere found out his brother Henry, age 24 was killed at Monte Casino, battles in Italy. Henry Joseph Guarnere

was Bill’s older brother by 4 years. Henry was born 25-01-1919, in Philadelphia. When they were young, the two brothers hung out together & were close friends, writing regularly to each other once they had entered military service.

When Martin sought Sergeant. Clifford Carwood “The Man” Lipton‘s

 advice, Lipton said that he should tell Guarnere the news, despite it being before their first combat jump. When the jump was cancelled due to bad weather, Martin decided to swap jackets with Bill so that he would find the letter ‘by accident’, rather than tell him outright.

Johnny jumped in France and would fight in Normandy, and continued until they were taken off the line on July 9th. He would fight into Operation Market Garden in Holland in September 17, where they liberated my hometown Eindhoven  till they were removed in November 27th, and then fought in the Battle of the Bulge through December 18th, to January 20th 1945  The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the ice cold Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II, which took place from 16-12-1944 to 25-01-1945. It was launched through the densely forested Ardennes region between Belgium and Luxembourg. The offensive was intended to stop Allied use of the Belgian port of Antwerp and to split the Allied lines, allowing the Germans to encircle and destroy each of the four Allied armies and force the western Allies to negotiate a peace treaty in the Axis powers’ favour..

While occupying the town of Hagenau in Alsace, France, he and Lieutenant Jack Edward Foley

had to bring down a drunk soldier named Private Roy Wilson Cobb

who was causing trouble, and would later have to be discharged.

Martin continued to serve in the army in occupying Germany and Austria, till he was discharged after the war as a Staff Sergeant.

Death and burial ground of Martin, John William “Johnny”.

John returned to Columbus, Ohio with his wife Pat, and started a family. Always industrious, he worked for the C&O Railroad and built homes on the side. In 1960, at the age of 38, with $10,000 in his pocket and over the protests of his wife and two children, he moved his family to Phoenix, Arizona. Johnny formed his own construction company, and built numerous custom homes in the upscale Paradise Valley area of the Valley of the Sun. Later in his career he built commercial projects in Arizona and Montana, including nursing care facilities, shopping centers, and office buildings. In the early 1970s he visited and fell in love with western Montana, in which he eventually purchased a residence in Missoula and three working ranches. For the next 30 years he and wife Pat shared their lives between Phoenix and Missoula. John lived a very full life and accomplished everything he wanted.

John William “Johnny” Martin 25-01-2005, age 82, after battling with the complications of several strokes in Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona, United States and is buried at the Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona, United States 200 West Beardsley Road, Phoenix, AZ, 85027.

Johnny is survived by his wife, Patricia of Phoenix, a daughter, Sharon Martin Snavely (Don) of Missoula, Montana, and a son William Bryan Martin (Jill) of Phoenix, Arizona, a brother, Robert Martin of Columbus, Ohio, a sister, Virginia Fager of Syracuse, New York. John is also survived by four grandchildren, Jeffrey S. Isaly (Seanne) of Portland, John W. Martin II (Lisa) of Phoenix, Bradley W. Isaly of Scottsdale, and Jessica Martin Sizemore (Chris) of Vancouver, Washington, as well as seven great grandchildren. Throughout his life John remained very close with the members of easy company, annually attending their conventions for 58 years.

Message(s), tips or interesting graves for the webmaster:    robhopmans@outlook.com

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