Albert Earle MARTIN

MARTIN, FINCH, SWEENEY, CLARKE, VAN GORDEN, SUESS, SCHUYLER

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 2/26/2007 at 13:35:02

October 26, 2004

Albert E. Martin, 96, of Belmond, died on Friday, October 22, 2004. Funeral services were held on Wednesday, October 27, at the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, with Father David Beckman and Deacon Nick Schmit officiating. Burial, with military honors, was in the St. Francis Cemetery.

Albert Earle, was born on September 13, 1908, to Marion (Finch) and Earle Martin on a farm west of Belmond. He attended Belmond Schools, St. Thomas Military Academy in Minneapolis, Marquette University and Iowa State University. Upon graduation from Iowa Sate in 1931 he worked for the extension service. On February 10, 1934, he married Dorothy Sweeney. They lived in Marshalltown and Des Moines. In 1936 they moved to Indianapolis, where Albert became Regional Director with the Farmers Home Administration. In December 1940, he was called to active military service with the U.S. Army and assigned to an Artillery Unit at Camp Stewart, near Savannah, Georgia. In June 1943 he was sent to north Africa with the 45th Infantry Division where he was assigned responsibility for a self-propelled anti-aircraft unit. After landing in Sicily, the unit was reassigned to the 3rd Infantry Division that landed at Salerno, Italy and moved north to help liberate Rome. They landed in southern France and fought north. The division moved east through Germany, eventually capturing Hitler's "Eagles Nest" southwest of Munich. After 27 months of combat, with a purple heart and a bronze star, Albert returned to the U.S. in August 1945. He joined an Army Reserve Unit in which he remained active until 1961 when he retired with the rank of Lt. Colonel. After the war, Albert worked for the Veterans Administration and state agricultural organizations to establish the first farm training program for veterans. It became the model for a national program. He retired from the VA in 1966 and soon after took on administrative responsibilities at the Ames Laboratory at Iowa State University for ten years. In Ames, Albert was active in St. Cecilia's Parish and Iowa State Alumni and Fraternity Associations. In 1986, he and his wife returned to Belmond. He was a member of the St. Francis Xavier, the Knights of Columbus, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Belmond Historical Society and other organizations. Albert and Dorothy enjoyed travel as a form of education and a way of meeting new friends. By 1960 they had visited every state. Later they visited many countries, and Albert shared slides of their trips at retirement and community centers. In late May of this year Albert returned to Italy for the 60th anniversary reunion of U.S. soldiers who had landed at Salerno and Anzio beaches. This summer he continued to enjoy his garden, sharing produce with family and friends.

He was preceded in death by his wife; son, James; and daughter, Marion. Survivors include his daughter-in-law, Sharon Martin of Mazeppa, Minnesota; daughters, Linda (Wade) Clarke of Moline, Illinois and Jane (Schuyler) Van Gorden of Eau Claire, Wisconsin; grandchildren, Kurt, Derek and Erin Martin, Stacey (Gary) Suess, Heather (Kory) Thomas Schuyler Van Gorden, Audrey Clarke and Wade (Dana) Clarke; and great-grandchildren, Gabriela, Devin and Samantha.

©Belmond Independent 2004