Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
4:17 | As a battalion commander, Army engineer Jack Martin had a host of problems. From whether there were enough personnel to get the job done to keeping wayward enlisted men from abusing the Vietnamese civilians. Then there was the grim task of writing condolence letters. (This interview made possible with the support of BARBARA SHELDON in honor of Joseph Graham.)
Keywords : Jack Martin West Point engineer Vietnam Phan Thiet Vietnam mine civilian condolence letters
Army engineer Jack Martin was offered his choice of assignments. It could be Korea or Vietnam but he hated cold weather so much, he chose Vietnam. His first assignment was at a desk in Long Binh, but his career got a boost when he was offered command of a battalion. He jumped at the chance and faced a host of challenging situations. (This interview made possible with the support of BARBARA SHELDON in honor of Joseph Graham.)
Jack Martin had no close personal relationships with Vietnamese civilians during his tour, but the children who gathered whenever he stopped his jeep were friendly and curious. They were interested in a physical trait that Americans had that none of them shared. He also hosted the occasional USO visitor, including Tarzan, who refused a helmet. (This interview made possible with the support of BARBARA SHELDON in honor of Joseph Graham.)
Jack Martin was a new lieutenant out of engineering school by way of West Point. His first post was in Cold War Germany in support of the 2nd Armored Division, where he faced a great challenge, moving tanks across the Rhine. (This interview made possible with the support of BARBARA SHELDON in honor of Joseph Graham.)
A few years into his career, the Corps of Engineers sent Jack Martin to M.I.T for a year of civil engineering study. Then it was on to an ROTC teaching assignment at Auburn. Finally he put his engineering mettle to the test in Greenland, where a giant RADAR installation was needed. (This interview made possible with the support of BARBARA SHELDON in honor of Joseph Graham.)
With a variety of successful engineering assignments behind him, Jack Martin began participating in high level general war planning, first in Washington, and then in an underground facility in the Midwest. (This interview made possible with the support of BARBARA SHELDON in honor of Joseph Graham.)
As part of an effort to integrate education in the services, Army engineer Jack Martin was sent to Quantico for the Marine equivalent of the Army Command and General Staff College. Then came the plum assignment, Hawaii, where he could learn to do something he'd always wanted to do. (This interview made possible with the support of BARBARA SHELDON in honor of Joseph Graham.)
After his Vietnam tour, Army engineer Jack Martin served with an agency testing technical equipment developed for the unusual circumstances of an insurgency war. His next assignment was at Fort Hood where he fought a different enemy, the barren environs where the Army wanted a golf course. (This interview made possible with the support of BARBARA SHELDON in honor of Joseph Graham.)
Jack Martin was having a fine time his first year at college when his father asked him this question, would he accept an appointment to West Point? Having answered the only way a real man could answer, he chose engineering school at Fort Belvoir upon graduation. (This interview made possible with the support of BARBARA SHELDON in honor of Joseph Graham.)
Jack Martin finished out a long career as an Army engineer at Fort Belvoir where the engineering school is located. Once again, he participated in high level planning for war contingencies, as well as dealing with lower level problems like officers who wouldn't mow their grass. (This interview made possible with the support of BARBARA SHELDON in honor of Joseph Graham.)
