Clyde Allen Martin Jr. received his commission in 1952 and was soon deployed with his Artillery unit to Korea to join the fight. With the Chinese joining the war in support of North Korea, offering large numbers of humans to lay to waste in the fight to preserve the communist regime for the continent of Korea. American forces were being pushed back, day by day, as politicians negotiated areas of real estate for surrender. Lieutenant Martin heard the sounds of the horns and whistles moments before the attackers overrun his perimeter. The sounds of gunfire seemed to be coming from every direction around him, a blinding rain pouring down, the horns, gunfire, screams of men falling in writhing death, feet pounding all around him and the sudden hand grasping the arm of young lieutenant Martin, pulling him in a covered bunker and shoving him to the floor. Waiting for the bullet to enter his body, Lieutenant Martin looked into the eyes of an NCO; you shut your mouth and stay quiet, lieutenant. What seemed like endless gunfire and explosions their all around, the soldiers held their position with their Army issued 45’s as the NCO and the young lieutenant waited for death to enter their bunker. As quickly as it seemed to happen, the only sound remaining, was the sound of the pounding rain. Lieutenant Martin owed his life to an experienced NCO and the infantry security company who pushed the Chinese backed North Koreans out of his perimeter. Lieutenant Martin stepped out of the bunker and joined his soldiers with the tending of wounded and dying American soldiers who lay amongst the dead and dying attackers. The large artillery weapons were being attached to their tractors to move closer toward the 38th parallel. Lieutenant Martin would survive and employ many fire missions on an ever pursuing enemy, only to withdraw and move further South towards the 38th parallel and the Imjim River. Clyde Martin came home to Florida, a changed man. He welcomed his normal bankers life, but the memories of Korea often woke him in the middle of the night and only the comforting soft hands of his wife, Betty Anne, would lead him back to bed to fall asleep with the ringing of the big guns, forever ringing in his ears, the horns and whistles, gunfire, the sounds of dying and the rain.
On August 3rd 1954, Lieutenant Martin was blessed with twins; a son and daughter. It would be another thirty-four years before another Martin would land on Korean soil and begin another chapter of service to country for both the United States and Korea.
February 1988, a young Buck Sergeant steps out of an aircraft to the cold hazy skies of Seoul Korea. The pungent odor of ondol filled the air as the Sergeant headed to Army welcome center, only to be greeted by a Sergeant Major, directing the young sergeant to straighten his tie before going into the briefing room. The Seoul Olympics was going to showcase Korea as an evolving nation and the United States was building forces to insure North Korea would not spoil the show. The sergeant knew exactly were he would be going; he was headed to the 2nd Infantry Division’s Western Corridor, to be part of a defensive posture for the 2nd Infantry Division and help defend Korea’s showcase to the world.
Eight miles from North Korea, the Sergeant arrived at Camp Gerry Owen, home of the 2nd Infantry Division’s Cavalry Squadron. Two days in country, the anxiety of being so close to the heaviest fortified border in the world and already missing his wife, the sergeant headed to Squadron Headquarters to receive his assignment for what would change the rest of his and his wife’s life.
Upon receiving his mission, the sergeant was assigned a room in the barracks and was given time to ready his gear and prepare his quarters. Shortly after getting most of his gear put away, another soldier knocked on his door and offered to show the sergeant around the compound. Soon after chow, the soldiers changed out of their uniforms and head down range to the local village, which would start the life changing events for the young sergeant. It was a short mile and a half walk to the village and the sights and sounds of a foreign Korean lifestyle almost overwhelmed the young sergeant. The clubs, specialty clothiers, the food, visiting many small shops made for a late evening and was almost too much for a first night in Korea. By the time the Sergeant’s head hit the pillow it was almost midnight and shortly there after the alert siren went off and the reality of Korea set in, this was a real war zone. Jumping out of bed and into uniform then suddenly remembering, all of his combat gear was not put together. The sergeant struggled to get all the gear assembled, checking out his weapon from the arms room and double timed to his assigned defensive position, waiting for the attack to come, which never did. Standing down from the drill, a lesson in preparedness for which the sergeant would never let happen again. The nightlife in the village would not be the direction this sergeant would go. There had to be something better than spending money on useless trivets, clothes or alcohol. There was something on the horizon for which the young soldier would soon discover.
It was mid-afternoon when the sergeant stepped off the bus in front of the compound after spending time at the main PX on Camp Casey, which had more choices than the small Gerry Owen PX. The sergeant stowed his purchases in his wall locker and headed to the recreation center to find what would be the calling of the soldier. When the sergeant opened the door to the recreation center, what he found stopped him in his tracks. The room was full of children, 50-60 kids of all ages, watching a movie and enjoying popcorn and Kool-aid. The Squadron Chaplin, seeing the overwhelmed look on the face of the sergeant, walked from across the room to explain what was going on and asked the sergeant if he could help chaperone the children for that afternoon. The Chaplin explained he was working on renewing a relationship with the local orphanage after a soldier tried to have his way with one of the teenage girls at the orphanage. Regaining trust was going to be difficult but he asked the sergeant for his assistance and the sergeant agreed to help. Over the next weeks and months, the sergeant befriended the matrons of the orphanage and developed a friendship with several young girls, (ages of eight to twelve), often taking them to the village to eat and buying clothes to share with the other children of the orphanage. The sergeant encouraged other soldiers to participate in sponsoring their time and money to support the children. During field training exercises, the sergeant would often bring the leftover bread, food and deserts to the delight of the children, instead of the leftovers going into the garbage.
In mid-April, the sergeant’s wife arrived for a reunion tour and they traveled Korea, taking in the wonders of the nation. Just before the sergeant’s wife headed back to the states, the sergeant introduced her to the orphanage matrons and his girls. She wondered how her big tough combat soldier would turn into mush over some children and she welcomed the change in her husband’s demeanor. As her plane took off from Seoul and she watched Korea grow smaller and smaller, she already missed her husband and somewhere between Japan and the United States, she was thinking about going back to Korea.
It was June and very hot in Florida when the sergeant’s wife made up her mind, she was going back to Korea. She didn’t know what she would do, she wasn’t suppose to be there, it was supposed to be un-accompanied tour, an area of the world which could turn into a combat zone at any time, regardless, she was going back to Korea.
The sergeant’s wife knew there were other wives there; she had talked with them about how they lived in Korea during her reunion tour and was determined to make a go of the adventure. Once in Korea, she started volunteering for the Brigade Chaplin at Camp House with other wives. With her business background and organizational skills, she worked with other wives in the development of a volunteer corps within the 2nd Infantry Divisions Western Corridor. She assisted the Brigade Chaplin with the development of a Brides School for the Korean wives who would be returning to the states with their American soldier husband.
The sergeant and his wife attended Korean ceremonies’ and a wedding of their Korean friends, organized trips with the orphanage children to amusement parks in Seoul with soldier chaperones. The sergeant organized fundraising on the compound to install new vinyl floors in the orphanage and coordinated with the PX for overage food to be donated to the orphanage. With duty hours and all the extracurricular activities, time passed quickly for the sergeant and his wife and it was time to return stateside. Leaving Korea was the first thing the sergeant wanted to do upon arriving in country but now, with all the friends the sergeant and his wife would probably never see again, leaving was going to be a painful event. Saying good-bye to the children was almost heartbreaking for both. The final clearance papers signed, plane tickets in hand, the shaking of hands, pats on the back and a final taxi ride to airport. Boarding the plane, the gentle ride to the final take-off, Korea was quickly fading away from the sergeant and his wife. Korea had changed them. It opened their eyes to what their real military mission was; it was representing their country, being true ambassadors to their hosts. With all they had done within the local Korean community and their Army community; had they make a difference? Our nation had made a difference in the development of Korea. Korea is the Phoenix, raised from the ashes of war to become the shining example of what hard work and a determined people can become.
The Martin family had made a difference for the Korean community; Clyde Martin Jr. was there first in the defense of the nation and secondly, his daughter Debra as an ambassador to the nation and the Army community volunteer. But more importantly, Korea made them better for serving both countries.
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