DOB/DOD: September 8, 1924 (Saco, ME) – February 23, 1945; 20 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried
LOCAL ADDRESS: Brick Top Road, Willimantic
ENLISTMENT: April 27, 1943, in Springfield, Massachusetts
SERVICE NUMBER: 846022
UNIT: Company B, 1st Battalion, 24th Marines, 4th Marine Division
MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY: 0745, Rifleman and 0746, Automatic Rifleman
FAMILY: Born to Canadian-born father Joseph Martel (1899-1978) and Diana Vachon Martel (1903-1971). Oldest of 5 children. Siblings are Diana Martel Dubina (1926-2012), Leo (1928-2005), Maurice (1929-1983), and Raymond (1935-?). 1
CIRCUMSTANCES: Boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina, in the summer of 1943. Assigned to the Guard Company, Marine Barracks, Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, Florida, from October 1943 through April 1944. Assigned as a light truck driver to the 3rd Provisional Marine Detachment, Administrative Command, Pacific, in the Summer of 1944. Then, his final assignment was to the 4th Marine Division, 24th Marines, 1st Battalion, B. Company from October 1944 until the end of the war. 5 Martel was mortally wounded on February 21, 1945, while fighting on Iwo Jima. He died aboard LST 931 two days later. The sailors returned his body to Iwo Jima; Martel was buried in Row 2, Grave 60 of the Fourth Marine Division Cemetery. Awarded the Purple Heart Medal. 2 Worked at American Thread Co. in Willimantic prior to the service. 3 Nature and manner of his death are unknown. PFC Martel and Private Edward Terreau of Torrington, Connecticut, were in the same company. They died 13 days apart.
Photo from an unknown source
Honored on the Windham World War II Monument, 7 Windham Center Rd, Windham, Connecticut. Photo by Jeff DeWitt.
Died aboard the USS LST-931. Initially buried in the 4th Marine Division Cemetery on Iwo Jima, Row 13, Grave 600. At his father’s request, his remains were repatriated and buried in St. Joseph’s Cemetery, 134 Club Road, Willimantic, Connecticut; Section 1E, Row 6, Grave # 3. Photo by Jeff DeWitt.
1 – 1940 census https://www.ancestry.com/cs/1940-census
2 – https://findagrave.com
3 – https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2238
4 – USMC Casualty Report received via FOIA request
5 – USMC Muster Rolls: https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1089/