09/12/2022
(SEPT 12, 2022) FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS – With a heavy heart, the legendary World War II veteran Paratrooper, Jim ‘P*e Wee’ Martin, dies at 101.
Martin served in the 101st Airborne Division and was a member of the “Screaming Eagles.”
Jim Martin parachuted into Normandy (landing near Saint-Côme-du-Mont behind Utah Beach) at 12:30 AM on June 6, 1944. "P*e Wee" Martin fought in the Normandy campaign for thirty-three days until the 101st Airborne was relieved and returned to England in July.
On September 17, 1944, the 101st Airborne Division jumped into Holland in the leading wave of "Operation Market Garden." Jim Martin landed near the town of Son. G Company fought to secure "Hell's Highway" during this ill-fated operation. The 506th PIR was sent to Mourmelon, France, in November after more than sixty days of fighting in Holland.
On December 16, 1944, Germany launched its last major offensive in the West, The Ardennes Offensive, soon known as the "Battle of the Bulge." The 101st Airborne Division was trucked over 100 miles to the Belgian crossroads town of Bastogne. The 3rd Battalion established defensive positions on the northern perimeter, where they endured bitter cold and some of the most challenging fighting on the Western Front.
After participating in operations in Germany early in 1945, the 101st Airborne Division ended their war by occupying Adolph Hitler's mountain home in Berchtesgaden, Bavaria, in April 1945. Being a "high point man," Jim Martin shipped home out of Marseilles in September 1945.
After the war, Jim married Donna Veverka of Newton, Iowa. They built their own home in Sugarcreek Township and had five children. After nearly 73 years of marriage, Donna passed away in 2019. Jim continues to live in their home in Sugarcreek Township.
Before his passing , Jim “P*e Wee” Martin was one of the last remaining “Toccoa Originals” of 1942 (made famous by the HBO mini-series, “Band of Brothers”) who was still meeting the public and carrying forward an eyewitness account of his unit’s experiences. He does so as a representative of the veterans of the 101st Airborne Division who are no longer here and to promote and preserve the legacy and lessons of the Second World War.
RIP Jim ‘P*e Wee’ Martin.
“Every Day is Memorial Day”
The Greatest GENERATIONS Foundation
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