ADMIRAL EDWARD H. MARTIN
By his friend and Coronado Scribe, Thomas Leary, May 12, 2015.
Some veterans are honored for conspicuous courage in the face of the enemy, and others for excellent performance in command of great fleets. Admiral Edward H. Martin is here recognized as a hero in both arenas.
Ed Martin continued to serve his country and the city of Coronado even in retirement. The special regard of his neighbors and friends was made visible after he died on December 22, 2014. The huge crowd of mourners at his funeral spilled out of Christ Church into the large courtyard, where the ceremony was broadcast over loudspeakers.
Sherry Martin, who had married Ed in that same Church 56 years before, was later asked to comment on the extraordinary qualities of her husband. She promptly mentioned his unfailing devotion to the United States Navy on active duty and in retirement. “His hobbies all involved the Navy, but he also never lost his great sense of humor.”
Edward Martin grew up in Savannah, Georgia, and entered the Naval Academy in 1950, at the beginning of the Korean War. That conflict was over when he graduated in 1954, but the tense “Cold War” with Communist Russia and China continued throughout his 39 years of active service.
A brief biography cannot detail each of Ed’s varied assignments. Sherry Martin has often said that they moved 35 times! (She can say it with a smile, because she also grew up in a military family and was used to it.)
In summary, Ed was trained as a pilot in Pensacola, Florida, and Kingsville, Texas, after he graduated from the Academy. From 1955 to 1962, his credentials as a pilot were firmly established when he was served successively in multi-engine and single-engine squadrons, and then served as an instructor both at North Island and Miramar.
During the next five years, Ed’s varied assignments included service as a Flag Lieutenant for three Admirals, a cruise in the Mediterranean and graduation from the Naval War College in Newport. He was rapidly promoted. By the May of 1967 he was a Commander, serving as Executive Officer of an Attack Squadron, VA-34, flying the single-seat A-4 “Skyhawk.”
With a ground and air war raging in Vietnam, the men of VA-34 sailed from Norfolk, Va. on the carrier Intrepid. The ship crossed the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, then sailed through the Suez Canal on the way to the Tonkin Gulf off the coast of North Vietnam. After years of exposure to Cold War tensions, Commander Martin would fly in active combat.
The missions could be both dangerous and frustrating. The fliers were continuously exposed to attacks by ground-to-air missiles, but some prime targets were off-limits by restrictions imposed in Washington. Commander Martin did have one notable success on June 30, when he led an attack over the Haiphong Harbor that destroyed a large petroleum storage area. It was a mission for which he would later be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
He would not get to wear the decoration for a long time, because just nine days later, his A-4 was hit by a missile in the area. He bailed out, was promptly captured on the ground, and imprisoned for almost six years.
It is not necessary to detail Ed Martin’s experience as a POW. The world now knows about the brutal efforts of the Communist captors to extract “confessions” of war crimes from the prisoners, in order to fuel opposition to the war in the U.S. It is sufficient to say that he endured prolonged solitary confinement in barren cells, sleep deprivation, brutal beatings and broken bones. He later attributed his survival to “faith in God, his country and its government,” and “the well organized and strong leadership in prison.” (The senior POW was another Coronado resident, James Stockdale.) Ed Martin also emphasized the “strength, courage and faith’ of his wife, Sherry.
After his release from prison in March, 1973, Ed Martin returned to duty and assumed ever increasing responsibilities until he retired in 1989. Sherry believes that he most enjoyed his 1978-79 tour as Captain of the carrier Saratoga, a part of the Sixth Fleet in the still-tense Mediterranean area.
A carrier’s Captain has the ultimate responsibility for the welfare of a crew of 4500 on a floating airport and small city. He also serves as official host for visiting dignitaries when the ship is in various ports, an important diplomatic function in an area with so many NATO allies.
The Captain obviously has to delegate various tasks, but is always ultimately responsible if something goes wrong. He or she will fully experience what has been called “the loneliness of command” — a burden underlined by the longstanding tradition that a Captain normally dines alone.
Ed Martin’s performance must have been outstanding, because command of a carrier is often the last assignment in a successful career. He went on to wear the three stars of a Vice Admiral, with ever-increasing responsibilities that included command of the entire Sixth Fleet and service as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Air Warfare.
Shortly before he finally retired, Ed Martin was honored by President Reagan with two awards of the Distinguished Service Medal for his performance in “positions of great responsibility,” and belated awards of the Silver Star and a Purple Heart for his bravery and wounds suffered as a prisoner of war.
During his retirement years with Sherry in their Coronado home, Ed Martin was conspicuous for his leading role was in just about every public service organization in town, including Rotary, the Roundtable, and the Midway museum across the Bay. The value of his contributions is best demonstrated by the crowds who flocked to his funeral.
Ed Martin is survived by his Sherry, his devoted and brave wife for 56 years, and two of their three children: Michelle, born in 1959, lives in California; and Peter, born in 1963, lives and works on the East Coast. The first son, Edward II, born in 1960, died before his father, and his name is among those inscribed in Christ Church’s Memorial Garden.
Next week’s Avenue of Heroes biography will be COLONEL THEODORE H. RUNYON, by Thomas Leary, May 2015. (Banner at Third and H)
