Encyclopedia Dubuque
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
MARTIN, Robert L.
MARTIN, Robert L. (Dubuque, IA, 1919--Olympia Fields, IL, July 26, 2018 ). Facing challenges was not new to Martin who grew up in Dubuque as one of the city's few AFRICAN AMERICANS. Wanting to be a Boy Scout posed a problem because some parents threatened to remove their boys from the program if the troop admitted a black. Martin, son of Dr. Henry A. MARTIN and brother of Dr. James L. MARTIN continued with the program on his own, participating as a Lone Scout. (1)
A 1936 graduate of DUBUQUE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL, Martin earned his pilot's license as a student at Iowa State University and took his first solo flight in a Luscomb trainer. He graduated from Iowa State University earning a degree in electrical engineering and obtained a pilot's license. (2) While still in college, applied to join the U.S. Army Air Corps and was accepted after he was drafted into service. He began his military career in Fort Dodge. It was from there that he was granted a three-day extension of a furlough by his commanding officer. Martin, one of the few AFRICAN AMERICANS who were ski jumpers in the nation, was given the leave so that he could participate with the Longview Ski Club, in the 1943 ski tournament in Madison, Wisconsin. (3) Martin was later transferred to Tuskegee, AL, to train in the Army's Black pilot program, where he received the rank of commissioned second lieutenant and specialized in operating the AT-6 Texan and the P-40 War Hawk (4)
Segregation continued to play an important life in the life of African Americans in the pilot program. They had their own classes, flew on different airstrips and ate meals in separate dining halls from the white pilots. The Army even had a War College study that suggested blacks did not have the basic capabilities to pilot warplanes. (5)
Martin arrived in Italy in June 1944 and joined the 100th fighter squadron, part of the all-black 332nd fighter group. Their job was to keep German BF-109 Messerschmitts and other fighters from attacking American B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberator bombers. Black pilots, an estimated 450 of the 1,000 from the Tuskegee program, flew 15,533 individual combat missions in WORLD WAR II. They were known to American forces as the "Red Tailed Angels" because of the identifying red paint on their planes' tail section. The "Tuskegee Airmen" earned the respect of their peers and the military leaders. In 1947 the Air Force became a separate service and segregation of the pilots was ended in 1949. (6)
Lt. Martin, flying a P-51 Mustang, had 63 1/2 missions to his credit. On March 3, 1945, he was shot down by ground fire over the Zagreb aerodrome (Yugoslavia) and parachuted from the burning airplane. Martin was listed as missing in action. He was rescued by Yugoslav partisans and was not captured by the Germans. He spent five weeks in Yugoslavia and then returned to Italy by truck and plane. (7) He returned to his base on April 8, 1945. (8)
Martin's decorations included the Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart and Air Medal with 6 Oak Leaf Clusters. In 2007 he received the Congressional Gold Medal for his service and was inducted into the Iowa Aviation Hall of Fame. (9) After being discharged, Mr. Martin continued to serve in the Army Air Corps Reserves, rising to the rank of captain. Following his military career, he maintained a commitment to public service, serving as an engineer for Cook County, IL. He was also a leader in Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., an organization whose members travel the country as educators and historians. (10)
On February 23, 2010 Martin was honored at Simpson College with the 2010 George Washington Carver Medal. Carver, who received part his education at Simpson, later taught at the institute where the airmen trained. (11)
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Source:
1. Information provided by Richard G. Bridges
2. Harkin, Tom. (United States Senator), "A Tribute to Robert L. Martin, Tuskegee Airman," Capitolwords. Online: http://capitolwords.org/date/2013/06/10/S4054_tribute-to-robert-martin-tuskegee-airman/
3. "Six Dubuquers Enter Madison Ski Tournament," Telegraph-Herald, February 12, 1943, p. 16
4. Harkin
5. Bridges
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. "Robert Martin Escapes Nazis," Telegraph-Herald, April 19, 1945, p. 15
9. Bridges
10. Harkin
11. Ibid.
Special thanks to Gerald C. Gordon
