Martin Martinez

Martin Martinez, age 95, a resident of Velarde, passed away on Friday, February 16, 2018. He was born in La Madera, New Mexico, a logging camp, in 1922. His family moved back to Velarde when he was 5. He was 16 when his dad died, leaving him to take care of his mother and siblings. Martin found a job during the Great Depression with the Civilian Conservation Corps working in Bandelier before volunteering in 1942 for military service. After basic training in Colorado, he was sent to the U.S. Army Air Forces in Alamogordo, joining the 8th Air, 466th Bombardment Group, and 785th Bombardment Squadron. He worked with ground ammunition reloading and as a substitute gunner. He was part of the fliers targeting German aircraft factories, U-boat installations, ball bearing works, and oil refineries. He flew in the following combat missions: Air Offensive, Europe; Normandy, France; Ardennes-Alsace, France; Rhineland Air Campaign; Central Europe.  He was honorably discharged as a Sergeant in October 1945. He was a recipient of the following: European-African-Middle Eastern (EAME) campaign medal, three gold stars, six silver stars, six battle stars, American campaign medal/ribbon, European campaign medal, Eastern campaign medal, Good Conduct medal, and Rifleman badge.

Martin worked on construction projects in Los Alamos for a quarter-century after the war. He supervised concrete foundation work on commercial, public, and private buildings around the state. He continued this work until his late eighties.

He was preceded in death by his son Martin E. Martinez Jr.; granddaughter, Jillmarie; grandson, Dominic (Rocky); parents Presiliano Martinez and Delfinia Romero; sisters Perfecta (Tita), Margarita (Margie), and Luisa; brother, Tomas, and mother of his children Lydia V.  Martin is survived by his sister, Evangelina (Angie); close nieces Flora Norris and Bobbie Bustos; daughters, Alice Romero (Mike), Cora Roybal (Dennis); daughter-in-law, Patricia Martinez; sons, Merejildo Martinez (Cathy), Perfecto Martinez (Yvonne), Dennis Martinez (Evelyn), Dean Martinez (Minnie) and Tim Martinez (Danette); grandchildren, Christopher, Donna, Mikell, Mikelynn, Margarita, Carlos, Lisa, Erika, Meghan, Lorenzo, Lydia, James, Daniel, and Aaron; great-grandchildren; Abigail, Abrianna, Martina, Adam, Lucas, Marcos, Arianna, Aliyah and Alessandra; and many nieces and nephews.

A rosary will be recited on Tuesday, February 20, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Velarde with a Mass of Christian Burial to follow at 12:00 p.m. Burial will follow at the Santa Fe National Cemetery at 3:00 p.m. Serving the family as pallbearers will be Tim, Dennis, Dean, Merijildo, Christopher Martinez, and Michael Romero; honorary pallbearer will be Perfecto Martinez. The family would like to thank Compassus Hospice Care for the care they provided to Martin. The family of Martin Martinez has entrusted the care of their loved one to the DeVargas Funeral Home & Crematory of the Espanola Valley. 505-747-7477