| Gilbert E. Martin was born and raised in the Creole community of the city of New Orleans. In July of 1942, at the age of 19, Mr. Martin deceided to give up his job as a fountain porter and join the Marine Corps. At the time he joined, Mr. Martin was one of the first 250 black marines ever to enlist, and among the first 100 to go overseas. Martin went to boot camp in New River North Carolina, where gained expert markmanship scores on the rifle range, and soon became a coach on the range. In April of 1943, Corporal Martin boarded the USS Hunt for service in the Pacific. After a long journey through New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands, Martin sailed for the Russell Islands which were near Guadacanal, and arrived on August 13, 1943, at his first posting: a small island in the Russels known as Benika. Private. Martin served with the 1st Marine Depot Company on Benika for almost three years, and often encountered racial hostilities and predjudice which sometimes resulted in fisticuffs. Dispite these problems, the 1st Marine Depot Company became a fine unit. "We had to work harder to show that we belonged" states Martin. "Many people did not want us to succeed." The Company stuck together through thick and thin, and sometimes had to result to dynamiting fish in the lagoons in order to get a decent meal. Martin was promoted to Corporal, and was honourably discharged from the Marine Corps on December 28, 1945. |
