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01-09-2007, 09:06 AM
Ex-St. Laurence star Martinez displayed valor in Afghanistan
BY TINA AKOURIS
Chicago Sun-Times
Do you ever wonder what happens to the prep athletes you read about? They're here for four years of their high school careers, you read about them every day and then they're gone. Off to college or the real world, never to be heard from again unless they're world-class athletes or college or pro stars.
I found out what happened to Joe Martinez.
Who is he? He played football and baseball and wrestled at St. Laurence. In the fall of 1998 as a senior, Martinez was named to the Chicago Sun-Times All-Area and All-State football teams. Martinez was the only running back that season to rush for more than 2,000 yards (he rushed for 2,014), and he scored 24 touchdowns. In two years, he racked up 3,134 rushing yards.
Martinez, who started wrestling at 5, was sixth in state as a junior and fourth his senior year.
He wanted to play football in college. His mother, Linda Martinez, said Joe didn't start playing football until he got to St. Laurence. His sophomore year, Joe grew 5 inches and gained 30 pounds.
But by the time he was a senior, Martinez was recruited by all the Ivy League schools and a lot of Division II colleges. He wanted Division I.
That's when West Point came calling.
Martinez accepted a football scholarship to Army and embarked on a journey that would take him from New York's Hudson Valley to Afghanistan to Germany and to future points unknown.
Played linebacker for Army
In an e-mail from Germany, where he's stationed, Martinez said going to West Point and joining the Army weren't exactly on his list of life goals.
''After going to visit the Academy and reading a couple of books about West Point, I decided to accept the challenge to attend one of the finest institutions in the country, an Academy that developed such prominent leaders as Dwight D. Eisenhower, George Patton and Mike Krzyzewski,'' Martinez wrote. ''I understood that if I attended West Point, I would have a five-year commitment as an officer in the Army when I graduated. When I made my decision to attend, and during my four years at West Point, there was no opportunity given for a graduate to play in the NFL.''
Martinez played football at Army (he was a 6-1, 230-pound linebacker), majored in systems engineering and graduated in the top 20 percent of his class. He'll be in the Army for seven years. Normally, Martinez would serve five years after graduating, but he chose to go into aviation and fly Chinook helicopters. Being in aviation adds two years to the original five-year commitment.
In flight school, Martinez was third in his class.
In December 2005, he was shot down in Afghanistan.
He was promoted to captain on July 1, 2006.
A proud mom
Linda Martinez never thought one of her four children would join the military. She's in awe of her son.
''I was never against it,'' Martinez said. ''But I have a 25-year-old son, and I still can't picture him being in charge.''
Linda is a Chicago cop, and her husband is a detective, so she's no stranger to the perils of a life-and-death kind of job. But watching other people struggle on the street and become the victims of violence isn't the same as watching your own kid guide 29 other troops to safety out of a burning helicopter.
Linda Martinez gets very emotional just talking about it.
''I never thought my kid would go off to war,'' she said. ''I support them all, but I wish it was over.''
Capt. Joe Martinez is a hero. That much is obvious. He doesn't see himself as one, but after you read what happened to him on Dec. 4, 2005, you'll think the same, too.
Martinez was flying a Chinook during his last deployment to Afghanistan. There were 29 Canadian special forces on board who were flying to a special assignment.
''On Dec. 4, the aircraft in which I was flying was shot down by enemy fire, and our crew was forced to crash-land in enemy territory after [the Chinook] caught fire,'' Martinez wrote. ''By following standard protocol and maintaining situational awareness, my pilot-in-command, CW3 John Sims, and I were able to save the lives of 29 Canadian special forces and crew aboard the aircraft.''
''They had to wait for help, and the 29 Canadians stood there and fought,'' Linda Martinez said. ''It was a hard landing, and the [Chinook] was totally on fire and burned to nothing.''
Martinez was awarded the Air Medal With Valor for getting shot down by enemy fire. He also has earned an Air Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon and an Overseas Service Ribbon.
''Prior to 9/11 and after attending West Point for two years, I never feared that a war would break out,'' Martinez wrote. ''However, I understood that there was always a possibility that I would go to war. After 9/11, my junior year, I knew that it was almost a definite that during my five-year obligation I would be fighting in a war.''
Misses family, friends, sports
Martinez said he misses playing organized sports and tries to stay active in Army fitness centers and playing basketball. But now he and his wife, Jennifer, have their hands full with twins, Natalie and Ryan, who were born Dec. 6.
Joe and Jennifer are living in Germany, awaiting Joe's next deployment. They're looking forward to coming back to the United States to be closer to family and friends.
''I do not see myself as a hero,'' Martinez wrote. ''I see myself as a person who loves to excel in whatever I set my mind out to accomplish, a trait that I picked up from my parents.''
BY TINA AKOURIS
Chicago Sun-Times
Do you ever wonder what happens to the prep athletes you read about? They're here for four years of their high school careers, you read about them every day and then they're gone. Off to college or the real world, never to be heard from again unless they're world-class athletes or college or pro stars.
I found out what happened to Joe Martinez.
Who is he? He played football and baseball and wrestled at St. Laurence. In the fall of 1998 as a senior, Martinez was named to the Chicago Sun-Times All-Area and All-State football teams. Martinez was the only running back that season to rush for more than 2,000 yards (he rushed for 2,014), and he scored 24 touchdowns. In two years, he racked up 3,134 rushing yards.
Martinez, who started wrestling at 5, was sixth in state as a junior and fourth his senior year.
He wanted to play football in college. His mother, Linda Martinez, said Joe didn't start playing football until he got to St. Laurence. His sophomore year, Joe grew 5 inches and gained 30 pounds.
But by the time he was a senior, Martinez was recruited by all the Ivy League schools and a lot of Division II colleges. He wanted Division I.
That's when West Point came calling.
Martinez accepted a football scholarship to Army and embarked on a journey that would take him from New York's Hudson Valley to Afghanistan to Germany and to future points unknown.
Played linebacker for Army
In an e-mail from Germany, where he's stationed, Martinez said going to West Point and joining the Army weren't exactly on his list of life goals.
''After going to visit the Academy and reading a couple of books about West Point, I decided to accept the challenge to attend one of the finest institutions in the country, an Academy that developed such prominent leaders as Dwight D. Eisenhower, George Patton and Mike Krzyzewski,'' Martinez wrote. ''I understood that if I attended West Point, I would have a five-year commitment as an officer in the Army when I graduated. When I made my decision to attend, and during my four years at West Point, there was no opportunity given for a graduate to play in the NFL.''
Martinez played football at Army (he was a 6-1, 230-pound linebacker), majored in systems engineering and graduated in the top 20 percent of his class. He'll be in the Army for seven years. Normally, Martinez would serve five years after graduating, but he chose to go into aviation and fly Chinook helicopters. Being in aviation adds two years to the original five-year commitment.
In flight school, Martinez was third in his class.
In December 2005, he was shot down in Afghanistan.
He was promoted to captain on July 1, 2006.
A proud mom
Linda Martinez never thought one of her four children would join the military. She's in awe of her son.
''I was never against it,'' Martinez said. ''But I have a 25-year-old son, and I still can't picture him being in charge.''
Linda is a Chicago cop, and her husband is a detective, so she's no stranger to the perils of a life-and-death kind of job. But watching other people struggle on the street and become the victims of violence isn't the same as watching your own kid guide 29 other troops to safety out of a burning helicopter.
Linda Martinez gets very emotional just talking about it.
''I never thought my kid would go off to war,'' she said. ''I support them all, but I wish it was over.''
Capt. Joe Martinez is a hero. That much is obvious. He doesn't see himself as one, but after you read what happened to him on Dec. 4, 2005, you'll think the same, too.
Martinez was flying a Chinook during his last deployment to Afghanistan. There were 29 Canadian special forces on board who were flying to a special assignment.
''On Dec. 4, the aircraft in which I was flying was shot down by enemy fire, and our crew was forced to crash-land in enemy territory after [the Chinook] caught fire,'' Martinez wrote. ''By following standard protocol and maintaining situational awareness, my pilot-in-command, CW3 John Sims, and I were able to save the lives of 29 Canadian special forces and crew aboard the aircraft.''
''They had to wait for help, and the 29 Canadians stood there and fought,'' Linda Martinez said. ''It was a hard landing, and the [Chinook] was totally on fire and burned to nothing.''
Martinez was awarded the Air Medal With Valor for getting shot down by enemy fire. He also has earned an Air Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon and an Overseas Service Ribbon.
''Prior to 9/11 and after attending West Point for two years, I never feared that a war would break out,'' Martinez wrote. ''However, I understood that there was always a possibility that I would go to war. After 9/11, my junior year, I knew that it was almost a definite that during my five-year obligation I would be fighting in a war.''
Misses family, friends, sports
Martinez said he misses playing organized sports and tries to stay active in Army fitness centers and playing basketball. But now he and his wife, Jennifer, have their hands full with twins, Natalie and Ryan, who were born Dec. 6.
Joe and Jennifer are living in Germany, awaiting Joe's next deployment. They're looking forward to coming back to the United States to be closer to family and friends.
''I do not see myself as a hero,'' Martinez wrote. ''I see myself as a person who loves to excel in whatever I set my mind out to accomplish, a trait that I picked up from my parents.''