RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Robert L. Martin served his country with distinction as a member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen during World War II; and
WHEREAS, Robert L. Martin was born in Dubuque Iowa and learned to fly in a civilian pilot training program when he was enrolled as a student at Iowa State University; and
WHEREAS, In 1944 at age 23 Robert L. Martin joined the Army Air Corps at Tuskegee, Alabama; and
WHEREAS, On March 3 1945 he was shot down by ground fire following his attack mission on an enemy airfield in Zagreb Yugoslavia and forced to bail out over enemy territory; and
WHEREAS, Wounded, Robert L. Martin found refuge in a Yugoslav farm house owned by an allied sympathizer — and escaped capture by Nazi forces. The next day, he was taken to the headquarters Marshal Josip Tito's Partisans where he remained for 5 weeks until he could safely return to his tinit in Italy; and
WHEREAS, For his combat service Lt. Robert L. Martin received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with 6 Oak Leaf Clusters and a Purple Heart; and
WHEREAS, After leaving the service, Robert L. Martin's job search took him to Chicago. Although, he was a fully qualified electrical engineer, there was little opportunity in the field that was open to African Americans at that time, and so he took a variety of jobs instead, driving taxi's and working in factories; and
WHEREAS, Eventually, Chicago Park district hired Robert L. Martin as a draftsman, and he subsequently joined the City of Chicago as an engineer where he worked for 37 years; and
WHEREAS, Robert L. Martin will be honored at a special celebration on the eve of Veteran's Day at Wintrust's Grand Banking Hall, 231 South La Salle Street, Chicago, Illinois; and
WHEREAS, Robert L. Martin is truly an example of what journalist Tom Brokaw called "Our Greatest Generation;" and
WHEREAS, Robert L. Martin is exceedingly worthy of our highest admiration and esteem; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and the membe...
Click here for full text