James A. MARTIN

MARTIN, MITCHELL, SMITH

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 1/6/2012 at 14:16:26

3 August 1917 --- 14 October 1988

James A. Martin, 71, decorated Navy vet, air station retiree

Services for James A. Martin, 71, of Point Loma, will be at 10 a.m. tomorrow in Beardsley-Mitchell Funeral Home. Burial will be in Greenwood Memorial Park. He died Friday in a hospital.

Mr. Martin, a native of Eagle Grove, Iowa, lived in the county 45 years and was a North Island Naval Air Station employee from 1945 until he retired in 1972. He served in the Navy during World War II, receiving the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and a Presidential Unit Citation with four bronze stars. He was active in the North Island Association, the Chamber of Commerce, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the National Association of Retired Federal Employees. He was a member of Masonic Lodge 620 and the Royal Arch Masons, a patron of Eastern Star Chapter 490 and a charter member of a group promoting the ideals of President Reagan.

Survivors include his wife, Katharine; his parents, Arthur and Merle, of Eagle Grove; and a nephew, William Mitchell of Tucson, Ariz. The family suggested donations to the Parkinson's Disease Center, 4501 Mission Bay Drive, Suite 1-F, San Diego 92109.

Evening Tribune - San Diego, CA
October 18, 1988

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James A. Martin; World War II veteran

Civic activist earned Presidential Citation for battle efforts

James A. Martin, a retired Civil Service employee at North Island Naval Air Station and a civic activist, died Friday at Sharp Memorial Hospital after a long illness. He was 71.

Mr. Martin was born in Eagle Grove, Iowa, and joined the U.S. Navy in September 1941 and earned a Bronze Star and Purple Heart in the Pacific campaign. He also received a Presidential Citation with four Bronze Stars for participation in major battles. Following his discharge in 1945, he went to work at North Island where he completed 32 years of service. He was active in the North Island Association and helped build the Navy's winning entries in the National Air Races. He was a member of the American Metallurgists Society, San Diego Chamber of Commerce and went on numerous overseas trips with the San Diego Mayor's People-to-People Tours.

Mr. Martin was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, National Association of Retired Federal Employees, the Point Loma Masonic Lodge 620, Darius Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of California and the Point Loma Chapter of Eastern Star. He was a founding member of Ronald Reagan's Presidential Task Force.

Services will be at 10 a.m. tomorrow at Beardsley-Mitchell Mortuary in Ocean Beach with Masonic lodges and the Rev. Arthur F. Sueltz of Point Loma Community Presbyterian Church participating. Burial will be at Greenwood Memorial Park.

Survivors include his wife, Katharine Smith Martin of San Diego, and his parents, Arthur J. and Merle Martin of Eagle Grove, Iowa. The family has suggested donations to the Parkinson's Disease Center, 4501 Mission Bay Drive, Suite 1-F, San Diego, Calif. 92109.

San Diego Union -- San Diego, CA
October 18, 1988