This is Veteran Jim “Pee Wee” Martin.
He arrived in England from Ohio, America, last weekend to begin his three-week Trip of Remembrance through Europe, visiting the places he encountered during WW2. He is travelling with his companion, Doug Barber, a history teacher, also from Ohio. Our son (the Sofa Loafer), met them at Heathrow and drove them to Wiltshire, where they revisited places Jim remembers from 1943. He had a reunion with Rosemary, a young girl he met in the village of Ramsbury, where he was billeted prior to the Normandy Invasion. They have corresponded ever since, know all about each other’s lives and families, but this was their first meeting in almost seventy years.
One of Jim’s ambitions was realised when, on the way back to Surrey to stay over at Chez Pellett, they made a detour to take in Stonehenge. After walking all around the site it was back in the car to a final stop at the Bourne Woods, Farnham. It was here that the HBO miniseries, “Band of Brothers” filmed the Currahee Mountain sequence and Jim had been impressed that the location used was sympathetic to the real Currahee – which he had run up and down many times during training at Camp Toccoa. He amazed everyone when, after almost two hours in the car, he got out and sprinted up the hill. Doug managed to capture it on a short video. You can watch it here.
They arrived at our house in the early evening after a brief stop at a typically English pub. I expected him to be travel weary, jet-lagged, even. I would have been. But Jim is an extraordinary man and we feel very honoured and privileged to have made his acquaintance. We had a light supper and talked till late in the evening, S-L showed us a DVD of Jim taking a tandem sky-dive at the age of eighty-nine – another of his ambitions was to jump out of a plane again. Very early the next morning, they set off for the Portsmouth to Cherbourg ferry. The Sofa Loafer delivered them to mutual friends in Normandy who will look after them while there. After four days they head to Belgium, Holland and Germany.
Tonight there will be fireworks to celebrate the 69th anniversary of D-Day. There will be parties and lighting of beacons all along the coast. They’ll all be there and I have a feeling that Jim will be the last man to bed. As he said when we were watching the sky-dive video – “Life is not a spectator sport.”
All Photographs courtesy of Doug Barber.
Below is a brief description of Jim’s war.
Jim’s war began in 1942 when he signed up to the 101st Airborne Division and trained with the 506th PIR (Parachute Infantry Regiment), at Camp Toccoa, Georgia, moving to Fort Benning for their jump preparation before being shipped to England in 1943. His G Company was based in and around the beautiful village of Ramsbury where further training was undertaken until the start of Operation Overlord – the Battle for Normandy.
In the early hours of 6th June, 1944, Jim, aged twenty three, was one of over 13 000 American paratroopers who crossed the Channel in a C47 and was dropped by parachute into Normandy. He landed safely near the small village of St Cȏme Du Mont, near Utah Beach. Thousands of his compatriots didn’t: the Germans had flooded the drop zones and many troops drowned, unable to stay upright in deep water, the weight of their chutes and supplies dragging them down. Jim went on to fight in Normandy for thirty three days before returning to England in July.
By September 1944, Jim had jumped again, this time into Holland where his Company fought to secure “Hell’s Highway” in the ill-fated Operation Market Garden. After seventy days of fighting in the Netherlands, Jim’s unit camped out in France until they were sent to Bastogne in Belgium to take part in the Battle of the Bulge during a bitterly cold December. After Bastogne, Jim took part in the Rhineland Campaign and ended his war at Hitler’s mountain home, “The Eagle’s Nest” in Berchtesgaden in 1945.
What an amazing man. He probably runs better/faster than me at 40 years older than I am. Hope he enjoys this trip, I’m sure the people who meet him will feel their lives have been enriched.
That’s exactly right – to be part of his trip has been very special. Our son was delighted to meet him in America a couple of years ago and they have kept in touch ever since. He may be 92 but has kept up to date – he even has a facebook page!
What a marvelous man to meet and listen to. Another fascinating post. I really enjoyed hearing about Jim’s visit after all these years. And then to read the brief history of his time as a soldier.
At 92 Jim is a real inspiration. Thanks for sharing these parts of his story.
I think these moments need to be recorded. Jim is indeed an inspiration and we wish him all the best for his European trip.
Thanks for reading, Rod.
Fantastic………..what a guy!
I would have loved to meet him , I am sure it will be a very memorable and emotional trip. I felt quite teary myself watching him run up the hill, well done sofa loafer.
He’s having a fine time in Normandy, I can report, according to the limited text messages received.
THANK YOU for sharing Mr. Martin’s story….we want to share it, too, and have “pinned” a link here: http://pinterest.com/pin/264375440598308393/
Please pass along our thanks to Mr. Martin for his service. God bless him and all who fought alongside him!
How lovely. What a priviledge to meet him and for him to reside at chez Pellett!
What a great guy, I can’t believe his stamina at his age – he puts me to shame!
He is amazing -apparently he chops all the wood at home for their wood burning stove. A great guy indeed.
It’s important to keep telling these stories…it’s so easy to forget.
You’re so right. We must make the most of these moments and document them while we can.
Thanks for this post, Jenny – much appreciated.
Thanks for reading – it was a special visit for us.
I cried watching that amazing video.
My own father was in the Air Force, then part of the US Army, during WWII. Twice he was on planes that went down in missions over Germany. The first time they barely made it back to England. The second time, they managed to nurse the plane along until crash landing behind Russian lines, where the locals robbed them of everything they had on (insulated flight suits, leather jackets, etc.) His flight crew made their way across Russia, through Europe to Italy. He still remembers the young lieutenant, fresh over from America, who greeted them on arrival with a demand to know why they were out of uniform. And he still has the clock he took out of the downed plane. Over the years, he never told us anything about his war, but he stayed in touch with other members of his crew. Now he’s the last one left, and he wrote about his experiences for me. “This is the frightening thing about war. I have heard it described as a narcotic, a drug that catches up everyone and under the fervor of Patriotism, gets them all enthused. That’s fine when there is a job to be done, but War is to be avoided as much as possible.” He wanted to come and see the places he remembers from England, but broke his leg and isn’t able to travel.
He’s my hero.
I hope your Dad makes a speedy recovery and is able to come over to revisit England soon. Thanks for sharing his eventful wartime experiences. They were a tough generation, weren’t they?
Oh wow, what a post Jenny. It’s impossible not to get teary at that video. That guy is an inspiration, and a reminder that too many of his comrades barely got out of their teens, or they could have been running up that hill too. Thanks so much for posting.
Thank you Roy. The thing that gets me is that Jim was the same age when he jumped out of that plane as our son is now. Brings it home, doesn’t it?
Reblogged this on Back On The Rock and commented:
A brilliant and moving story for D-Day – be sure to watch the video short.
Thank you for introducing us to this amazing man, Jenny!
It’s a pleasure, Jill, thanks for stopping by. I’ve just checked out your very interesting blog and will be checking in and out from now on!
Thank you Jenny, I’ll be doing the same! 🙂
Jenny, this is a wonderful post!
Thank you for sharing “PeeWee” Martin’s story. You did a beautiful job.
Thanks Marylin- you’re always so kind! I think we have my son to thank for bringing Jim into our lives. He has met some wonderful people and characters through his research into the Normandy Invasion and met Jim and others when he attended a convention and veteran reunion in Detroit two years ago.
Hi -‘Pee Wee’ is such a legend! When I think of ‘Pee Wee’, I think of super humans of ancient times – lit from within.
I forwarded your blog entry on ‘Pee Wee’ to my brother in Ohio who sent the following:
‘Great story; gives dad, something to shoot for! Loved the video of him charging up that hill @ 92!’
Many thanks to your ‘sofa loafer’ and to you for connecting ‘Pee Wee’ to our lives!
Thanks, Nancy. It’s great that this post has ended up in Ohio – Jim’s home state.
My son is 11 years old and is completely in to the 101st Airborne, he knows all their movements in WW2, and these stories are all the books he reads. He has been following this extraordinary journey on my Facebook and has thoroughly enjoyed reading it. He was mighty impressed with the run up “curahee”. We are fortunate to be going to Normandy next year with a Ww2 jeep. If my son is anything to go by he won’t let anyone forget the sacrifices these guys did for freedom. Thank you for letting us all in on this journey.
Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting. Your son sounds just like mine! He became fascinated with the Airborne from watching Band of Brothers at around the age of 12 and his interest and knowledge just grew and grew. You’ll have a wonderful time in Normandy next year, I’m sure – it will be an experience you and your son will never forget. I wish you well.
I’ve nominated you for the Versatile Blogger Award! (For more info, see http://wp.me/p2SHpT-kS)
Jenny. It was so sweet to see a man from WWII at that age relive that sprint. My mom is his age. The war memories are so important to them. It seems that in addition to being tough, they were united against world tyranny. Something our generation did not have to do!
My daughter is like your son. She founded a company called “Military Angels”. Its mission is to unite families of war with each other for mutual support. She is 17. She knows every battle of World War II and corrects her teacher in details. Thanks for posting. Lyla will enjoy this!!!
Thanks for reading this far back, Hollis. We had a very interesting time when Pee Wee came to stay and then our son, Matthew, had a great time with his friends and all the vets in Normandy.
Good on your daughter – we need this younger generation to take over the baton and carry on remembering!
Hi!
My mom, Hollis Hildebrand-Mills, showed me your post tonight! I find it absolute fascinating the accomplishments of this man.
Like my mom said, I’ve always been a huge U.S Military supporter & started my own organization called “Military Angels” that helps support the military families.
Like your son, I learning about the World War II battles! It’s nice to know someone else is interested in that kind of thing! It’d be interesting to talk to your son to see what he knows that I don’t (which is probably a lot, haha).
Anyway, I love your blog! I’m definitely following it.
Hello Lyla
Thank you so much for commenting. It is a fantastic thing you are doing with Military Angels – good luck with it and carry on. We need lovely young people like you to keep the memories alive.
My son has a website, currently a bit out of date, but you might be interested to see what he’s been up to:
http://www.airborneinengland.co.uk/index.htm
Fascinating to read Jim’s story here Jenny and what an amazing one indeed. I loved reading about his reunion with his female friend after 70 years! His trip back last year must have been incredible for him. I’m sure your son will have many more stories of his recent visit to Normandy for the 70 year anniversary celebrations and I look forward to reading all about them.
Thanks for reading back on this post, Sherri. Matthew is back from Normandy now, he had some wonderful reunions with some of the vets he met during the course of his research for the book. Jim actually took a tandem parachute drop! He’s quite a celebrity but there are lots of others who are equally as amazing for their age. It’s great that there are so many young people around who are now so genuinely interested – the memories will carry forward, hopefully forever.
You know I always love to read your ‘back’ posts Jenny and get the full picture. I think it’s absolutely wonderful that Matthew has written his book and is so involved with the reunions in this way. As you say, it really is great to think that so many fine, young people are going to keep the stories alive for future generations so that we never forget…and I’m in total awe of these old boys who are the real celebrities 🙂