Rounds Leads Legislation to Rename Post Office in Honor of Fallen Army First Lieutenant Thomas Martin
HURON – U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) introduced legislation to designate the Huron Post Office as the “First Lieutenant Thomas Michael Martin Post Office Building.” Originally from Huron, 1LT Martin was a 5th generation Beadle County Martin whose great-great-grandfather homesteaded northeast of Huron in the 1880s. He died in action while serving his country in Iraq.
“1LT Martin represents the best of our country,” said Rounds. “He gave his life to defend the freedoms we enjoy in America. The First Lieutenant Thomas Michael Martin Post Office will stand as an important reminder of him, and others who made the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of the American people. Though we will never be able to repay the debt we owe 1LT Martin, this renaming is one way to honor and remember his life of sacrifice and service.”
1LT Martin was born in Huron and later moved to Texas and Arkansas due to his parents’ active duty service that moved the family out of South Dakota. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1998 and would go on to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point. 1LT Martin died during combat operations on October 14, 2007 while serving his country in Iraq.
“Our family is so honored to have a prominent building named in memory of our son, in the city I grew up in, and where two of our four children were born,” said Ed Martin, 1LT Martin’s dad. “Our family is confident that Tom’s legacy will live on for years, as those who pass by the Huron Post Office will give cause to pause and research who he was, what he stood for, and why our beautiful historic Huron Post Office is named in memory of our Tom.”
“To be able to show respect by naming a public, federal building after 1LT Thomas Michael Martin for his brave service to our country, where he made the greatest sacrifice, is a wonderful, humbling gesture,” said Laurie Shelton, President & CEO of the Huron Chamber & Visitors Bureau.
BACKGROUND (Courtesy of the 1LT Tom Martin Memorial Foundation):
1LT Martin was born October 10, 1980, in Huron, South Dakota. He left South Dakota as a very young boy, went to school for a short time in San Marcos, Texas and then graduated from high school in Cabot, Arkansas in 1998. That same year, he enlisted in the United States Army completing Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training as a Field Artilleryman at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. In 2000, after an assignment to Camp Stanley in Korea, 1LT Martin was accepted for admission to the United States Military Academy. After attending the United States Military Preparatory School, he entered West Point in the fall of 2001. As a West Point Cadet, 1LT Martin started on the Rugby team, was a member of the Military Tactics Team and earned his Parachutist Badge by graduating from Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia. He majored in Military Science and graduated with his class in May 2005. 1LT Martin was commissioned as an Armor Officer and completed the Armor Officer Basic Course at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
1LT Martin volunteered for Ranger School and graduated earning his Ranger tab in May 2006. He reported to the 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Richardson, Alaska in June 2006. Upon arrival, he was assigned as the Sniper Platoon Leader in Crusader Troop and deployed with the unit in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in October 2006.
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