Roy Martin Papers
Collection — Box: 1
Identifier: Mss-0171
The Martin Papers consist of a biographical sketch (1998), correspondence (letters and postcards, 1935-1945), a 2003 eulogy of Martin delivered by his son Allen, a transcript of an oral history concerning D-Day recorded by Martin in 1995, and report cards from Clemson College (1937, 1939). The May 12, 1998 biographical sketch covers the years 1940-1945, giving an overview of the events covered in the correspondence for that period; it also lists individuals referred to in his letters. The 1935-1939 correspondence describes his life as a student at Clemson College, including his activities as a member of the band and military training as a cadet and member of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC). The 1940-1945 correspondence recounts his various postings in the United States, training as paratrooper and overseas experiences during the war. The latter includes descriptions of English, French, Belgian, German and Austrian rural areas. There is correspondence from his wife, Alma, to Martin's mother for the c.1942-1943 that describes her life as an army wife and her husband's activities.
Roy Martin was born January 2, 1918 in Greenville County, the son of J. Roy C. Sr. and Eda Bell S. Martin. He graduated from Clemson College in 1939 with a degree in mechanical engineering. In 1940 he was ordered to active duty as a second lieutenant in the infantry and from 1940 to 1943 was stationed in Cheyenne, WY, Mineral Wells, TX, Fort Benning, GA and Ft. Bragg, NC, becoming a paratrooper and first lieutenant in 1942. He married Alma Louise Murray on May 24, 1942 in Texas and they had four children: James Roy III, John, Stephen and Margaret. During World War II he served with the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Parachute Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. Martin participated in Operation Overlord (the Normandy invasion), Operation Market-Garden (Arnhem) and the Battle of the Bulge, rising to the rank of major. After the war he joined his father as a roofing contractor and eventually became Chairman of the Board of J. Roy Martin & Company. Martin served as president of the Carolinas Roofing Contractors Association, the National Roofing Contractors Association, and the Anderson Rotary Club (1949-1950), as well as chairman of the Board of Directors of the Anderson Chamber of Commerce and the Board of Trustees of Anderson Memorial Hospital. He was a founding member of the Anderson Symphony Orchestra. Roy Martin died May 30, 2003 in Anderson, SC.
0.6 Cubic Feet
English
Arranged chronologically.
The collection was donated to Clemson University Libraries by Roy Martin in 1998 as accessions 98-53 and 98-90 and by Allen Martin in 2009 as accession 09-73.
Part of the Clemson University Libraries Special Collections and Archives Repository