Twitter
Facebook
Reddit
Digg
Tell us what you think!Send a letter to the editor about this or any other article in The Maine Campus.
If you ever ran into Samuel Martin on the street, you might not realize that this seemingly quiet person is a ladies’ man. With his patented “elbow touch” move, Martin is a killer dancer – at least when it comes to replicating the moves of Napoleon Dynamite. On top of that, he is a member of the U.S. Marine Corps.
You also may not be aware of this man’s recent promotion to second lieutenant.
Martin grew up in Lewiston. His father, Andrew, was born and raised in the area and met his wife, Suu Le, during the Vietnam War when he was stationed there with the Air Force. The two married and returned to Lewiston, where they raised their three children.
After graduating from Lewiston High in 1996, Martin wanted an “exciting occupation with travel and adventure” and opted to join the Marine Corps in December of that year.
“Of course I wanted to be with the ‘best military service,” said Martin, “and everyone was saying how Marine Corps boot camp was the toughest.”
After completing his three-month boot camp training at Paris Island, N.C. and spending four months at Infantry School at Camp Geiger, N.C., Martin was stationed in California for three and a half years with the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines as an infantry mortar man.
“I went overseas twice, for six months each, to Asia. I was able to see several different countries such as Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei,” said Martin.
After returning from his deployment, Martin knew that he wanted to stay in the Marine Corps for the long haul- the full 20 years until retirement- but he figured if he was going to do this, he’d better do so as an officer.
He was accepted at the University of Maine and started college in the spring semester of 2001. Though he was unaware at first of what degree he wanted to pursue, Martin decided to major in philosophy after taking a few courses in the subject to satisfy the general education requirement.
During college he remained part of the military in the 1st Battalion, 25th Marines, a reserve unit out of Topsham.
Under the command of Major Kinsella, the unit was deployed for the entire year of 2003, delaying Martin’s college career by a year.
“I longed to return to school,” said Martin, “but it gave me a chance to see Okinawa, Japan for the third time, as well as South Korea and the Philippines for the first time.”
Stationed with Martin was the recently commissioned 2nd Lt. Matthew Allen, and Cpl. Randall H. Perry.
“He is a good Marine who I had the pleasure of serving with during portions of the last four years,” said Perry. “He was a good non-commissioned officer, and I am confident that he will use that enlisted experience to become a good commissioned officer of the Marines as well.”
The promotion could seem overwhelming for Martin, a 27-year-old recent graduate of UMaine, but his former military cohorts have the utmost faith in his promotion.
“I think he will do well to transition from enlisted to officer and make his life composed of taking care of those same men he was shoulder-to-shoulder with,” commented Allen.
Martin’s family, however, had concerns when a Marine recruiter came to their house when he was 17 to recruit him for the delayed entry program.
“My folks were upset by this; it was the first time I saw my dad cry.” said Martin.
Ten years later, they are a little more settled with the idea of the military being their son’s career choice.
“My mom never stops telling me to be careful. Like any concerned mother, I don’t think she’ll ever stop worrying about me,” he said.
Currently, Martin is working for the officer selection office as a recruiter’s aid until he goes to Virginia on April 6. Once there, he will attend The Basic School in Quantico for 6 months.
After TBS, it will be off to flight school in Pensacola, Fla. for about 18 months as a student naval aviator. He will specialize in an aircraft, though which exact type remains a mystery to Martin.
“I won’t know until I go through the school. They will assign me by demand. It could anything from an F-18 fighter jet to a CH-46 helicopter.”
Once he completes flight school, Martin will be stationed in one of three places- the East or West Coast, or possibly overseas- with a contract that could range from six to eight years, depending on the type of aircraft he’s issued.
Martin was given his “Oath of Office,” by 1st Lt. Sean Bennett during his commissioning ceremony on Dec. 22 at the Orono Community Church.
“I knew I wanted to be in the military since I was 12-years-old,” said Martin. “I plan on retiring from the military; I already have five years of the 20 done, so I might as well finish out another 15.”
