Happy Veteran’s Day, Dad! Here’s a photo of Tom with his mother Be, just before he shipped out to the Korean War.
I love that look on Grandma Be’s face. Perhaps I am reading too much into it, but I sense a combination of pride (her Marine son is serving our country) and fear (he may not be coming home). Fortunately Tom did return home safe and sound, otherwise my siblings and I would not be here.
If you can love, thank a parent. If you can read, thank a teacher. If you can speak your mind in a free country, thank a veteran.
Thank you all U.S.A. veterans for protecting our great nation and way of life.
We celebrate this Memorial Day 2010 by remembering our father, Thomas Ray Martin, and his brave service as a United States Marine during the Korean War. Here are some photos of Tom’s life during his service to our country.
Tom is the third National Guard from the left, working crowd-control for General Douglas MacArthur.
MacArthur was Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area during World War II. For his defense of the Philippines, MacArthur was awarded the U.S. Medal of Honor. He officially accepted Japan’s formal surrender aboard the USS Missouri on September 2, 1945, thus ending World War II. MacArthur then oversaw the occupation of Japan from 1945 to 1951, during which he ushered in sweeping economic, political and social changes that helped build Japan into the global economic powerhouse it is today. MacArthur handed over control to the Japanese government in 1949 but remained in Japan until relieved by President Truman on April 11, 1951. (Source: Wikipedia)
MacArthur visited Milwaukee, Wisconsin just two weeks later on April 27, 1951. He met some of the men who were under his command in the Philippines during the early months of World War II. These men included 13 Janesville, Wisconsin survivors of the 192nd Tank Battalion (Source: Janesville Gazette). Tom was a member of the Wisconsin National Guard and one of MacArthur’s personal guards during his visit. Tom was stationed outside MacArthur’s door at the Pfister Hotel and worked crowd-control.
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Our dear father Tom passed away one year ago today. We miss him very much! Today we will celebrate Tom’s life in pictures. These photos span Tom’s long life and are captured from the “Tom & Hazel 75 Years Young” book.
Here is Tom as a baby, a boy, and a young man:
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