Remembering World War II

Name: Harold Joseph Martin Rank: Corporal Service Number: 313301907 Service: A/S, 36 Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 11th Cavalry, Mechanized, US Army Date of Birth: March 10, 1923 Place of Birth: Halifax, Nova Scotia Date of Enlistment: March 8, 1943 Age at Enlistment: 19 Place of Enlistment: Boston, Massachusetts Address at Enlistment: 10 Auburn St, Lynn, Massachusetts Height: 5 feet, 6 inches Date of Death: April 21, 1945 (Killed in Action) Age: 22 Cemetery: Pine Grove, Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts Harold Joseph Martin was the son of Joseph J Martin (1894-1964) and Jessie (Hines) Martin (1895-1994). His father was born in Grand River, Newfoundland; his mother, in Fortune, Newfoundland. The family moved to the US five months after Harold was born, arriving in Boston Mass, aboard the SS Yarmouth on September 29, 1923. Harold had eight siblings in all – James L, Wallace, Laura, Edna, Dorothy, Gerald, Mary, and John C. Harold married Ivy Marion Teague (1923-2011) in 1935 and they had one son - Harold Joseph Martin, Jr (1942-2003). Harold registered for the US Draft on June 30, 1942 in Lynn, Mass., and was working for George Moore at the American Vitamin Oil Company in Woburn, Mass. at the time. His father-in-law, James Teague (1886- 1962), was listed as his contact on the draft registration. Enlisting in the US Army two days before his 20th birthday on March 8, 1943 he would go on to serve with the Mechanized Cavalry. Early February 1944 found the 11th Cavalry Group, Mechanized, under the control of the Eastern Defense Command, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, undergoing an intensive schedule of range firing in preparation for its first tactical mission of WWII. On March 15, 1944, the 11th Cavalry took over the defense of the Eastern Coastline of the United States from the Santee River in South Carolina (on the north), to the southern tip of Key West, Florida. The 44th Squadron was stationed at Camp Stoney Field, Charleston, South Carolina, with Troop A outposted at Brunswick, Georgia. Group Headquarters and the 36th Squadron took station at Atlantic Beach, Florida, with Troops A and C outposted at St. Augustine and Miami, respectively. Harold served with the 36th Squadron. Intensive patrolling was carried out and close liaison maintained with the Coast Guard, Harbor Defense, and FBI authorities. While Harold Martin was stationed in Florida at Atlantic Beach with his unit, he applied for naturalized citizenship in Jacksonville, Florida on May 13, 1944. The 36th moved to Camp Gordon in Augusta, Georgia on June 1, 1944. They then departed the New York Port of Embarkation on September 29, 1944, and arrived in England on October 10, 1944, and landed in France on November 26, 1944. They moved to the Netherlands on December 8 1944, went into the line in Germany on December 12 1944, and protected the Roer River sector. They recrossed into the Netherlands on February 3, 1945, and re-entered Germany on February 27, 1945 on the left flank of the U.S. 84th Infantry Division. The group then held a defensive line along the Rhine River near Düsseldorf on March 12, 1945 under the XIII Corps, and crossed the Rhine at Wesel on April 1, 1945, screened XIII Corps' northern flank, and saw action during the Battle of Munster and the seizure of the Ricklingen Bridge over the Leine River. Corporal Martin was killed in action on April 21, 1945. His remains would have been returned to the United States post-war. The application for the grave marker was made in 1949.

Harold Joseph Martin