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Greenville Public Library
WWII Airborne
Soldier Jim Martin at Memorial Hall
The Greenville Public Library is proud to host Jim "Pee Wee" Martin to
share his experiences in an effort to promote and preserve the legacy
and lessons of the Second World War. This free event will be held
at the Henry St. Clair Memorial Hall on Saturday April 21st from 1:00
to 2:00 p.m. All ages welcome!
Jim was a member of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st
Airborne Division, 3rd Battalion, G Company, from 1942 to 1945.
These men went through intense training at Camp Toccoa, Georgia, where
the 506th was formed, an elite company consisting of 140 men and seven
officers. Known as the "Toccoa Originals" they were made famous
by the book Band of Brothers by historian Stephen Ambrose which was
later made into the HBO mini-series.
Their harrowing story began the night before D-Day, June 6th 1944, when
they parachuted over Normandy and touched down in enemy-controlled
territory behind Utah Beach. They fought for 43 days as part of
the Normandy campaign before moving on to invade Holland, fending off
Nazi fighters during the Battle of the Bulge, and finishing off by
taking Berchtesgaden, site of Hitler's "Eagle's Nest" redoubt in the
German Alps.
On June 6th, 2014, the 70th anniversary of D-Day, Jim became the last
WWII era American paratrooper to jump over Normandy at the age of
93. He landed behind Utah Beach just as he had 70 years
earlier. He felt fine after the jump and reportedly said "It
didn't compare because there wasn't anybody shooting at me today."
During the commemorations Jim was fortunate to meet several of the
actors involved in HBO’s “Band of Brothers” series. He has said on many
occasions that he holds all of these men in high regard. Jim
considers them to have brought attention to the legacy of WWII.
While attending the wreath laying ceremony at the Winters Leadership
Memorial near Sainte Marie du Mont, Jim had a completely unexpected
conversation with the British actor Damian Lewis. Lewis portrayed
Maj. Richard Winters in the series. Damian asked Jim about his
experiences from Toccoa through Bavaria and spoke about his experiences
during the production of “Band of Brothers”. This unexpected
encounter was a special moment for Jim.
A Q&A and picture opportunities will follow the presentation!
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