Jim "Pee Wee" Martin - A Life Remembered

101st Airborne Division
506th Parachute Infantry Regiment
3rd Battalion / G Company
1942 - 1945

D-Day / Market Garden / Bastogne / Berchtesgaden

On the 70th anniversary of D-Day (2014) and the 75th anniversary of Operation Market Garden (2019) at ages 93 and 98 respectively, Jim Martin recreated his jumps in those historic engagements of WWII.

One of Colonel Sink's original "Toccoa Men", Jim Martin joined the now famous 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment at Camp Toccoa in July 1942. He was soon given the nickname "Pee Wee" due to being the lightest man in the regiment. He accepted the moniker as a badge of respect. After completing their initial training at Camp Toccoa, the 506th moved to Ft. Benning for jump training and then on to Camp Mackall for further training.

In anticipation of the coming invasion of Hitler's "Fortress Europe", the 506th crossed the Atlantic on the HMS Samaria. After arriving in England in September 1943 3rd Battalion was billeted in the town of Ramsbury in Wiltshire where they completed their pre-invasion training.

Jim Martin parachuted into Normandy (landing near Saint-Côme-du-Mont behind Utah Beach) at 12:30 AM on June 6, 1944. "Pee Wee" Martin fought in the Normandy campaign for thirty-three days until the 101st Airborne was relieved and returned to England in July.

On September 17, 1944, the 101st Airborne Division jumped into Holland in the leading wave of "Operation Market Garden". Jim Martin landed near the town of Son. G Company fought to secure "Hell's Highway" during this ill-fated operation. The 506th PIR was then sent to Mourmelon, France in November after more than sixty days of fighting in Holland.

On December 16, 1944, Germany launched its last major offensive in the West, The Ardennes Offensive...soon to be known as the "Battle of the Bulge". The 101st Airborne Division was trucked over 100 miles to the Belgian crossroads town of Bastogne. 3rd Battalion established defensive positions on the northern perimeter where they endured bitter cold and some of the most difficult fighting on the Western Front.

After participating in operations in Germany early in 1945 the 101st Airborne Division ended their war by occupying Adolph Hitler’s mountain home in Berchtesgaden, Bavaria in April, 1945.

Being a "high point man" Jim Martin shipped home out of Marseilles in September 1945. In early 1946 Jim married Donna Veverka of Newton, Iowa. They built their own home and had five children. After nearly 73 years of marriage Donna passed away in early 2019. Jim continued to live in their home until his death on September 11, 2022.

Jim “Pee Wee” Martin was one of the last remaining “Toccoa Originals” of 1942 (made famous by the HBO mini-series, “Band of Brothers”)