BENJAMIN E. MARTINEZ, 1916-2009; BATAAN MARCH SURVIVOR 'NEVER GAVE UP HOPE'.Byline: BOB QUICK Military honors planned for man who endured deadly trek, years in work camp By Bob Quick The New Mexican New Mexico Abbr. NM or N.M. or N.Mex. A state of the southwest United States on the Mexican border. It was admitted as the 47th state in 1912. Benjamin E. Martinez, one of Santa Fe's few remaining survivors of the Bataan Death March Bataan Death March (April 1942) Forced march of 70,000 U.S. and Filipino prisoners of war (World War II) captured by the Japanese in the Philippines. From the southern end of the Bataan Peninsula, the starving and ill-treated prisoners were force-marched 63 mi (101 km) to a in World War II, died Saturday at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center at the age of 92. He had been admitted to the hospital a week before his death. "He would have been 93 on Jan. 3," said David Martinez
David Martinez Guzman is managing partner of Fintech Advisory, a firm that specializes in corporate and country debt. , one of Benjamin Martinez's five children and a resident of Santa Fe Santa Fe, city, Argentina Santa Fe, city (1991 pop. 341,000), capital of Santa Fe prov., NE Argentina, a river port near the Paraná, with which it is connected by canal. . "He checked into the hospital last Tuesday," after his illness had worsened. "His respiratory system respiratory system: see respiration. respiratory system Organ system involved in respiration. In humans, the diaphragm and, to a lesser extent, the muscles between the ribs generate a pumping action, moving air in and out of the lungs through a gave out." There will be a Mass of Christian Burial A Christian burial is the burial of a deceased person with ecclesiastical rites in consecrated ground. History and Antecedents of the Roman Catholic Burial ritual Early Historical Evidence Among the Greeks and Romans, both cremation and burial were practiced. at 10 a.m. Thursday at Cristo Rey Cristo Rey (Spanish for Christ King and Christ the King) may refer to:
Benjamin Martinez was a longtime member of Cristo Rey Parish and active there as an usher and in other capacities, David Martinez said. Retired Gen. Benjamin E. Montoya will be one of those on hand to acknowledge Benjamin Martinez's military service, David Martinez said. "They're trying to get (Benjamin Martinez) all the military honors they can," David Martinez said. "They're talking about a 21-gun salute and maybe a flyover." Benjamin Martinez was born in Park View, N.M., and orphaned at the age of 7, David Martinez said, adding that his father later joined the Army and was stationed in the Philippine Islands when war broke out with Japan. Japanese forces invaded the Philippines in 1941 and quickly occupied Manila and other cities, with about 100,000 defenders of the country retreating onto the Bataan Peninsula The Bataan Peninsula is a rocky extension of the Zambales Mountains, on Luzon in the Philippines. It separates the Manila Bay from the South China Sea. The peninsula features Mount Natib (1,253 m) in the north and the Mariveles Mountains in the south, which includes Mount Samat, . Japanese continued to advance, finally forcing the surrender of 12,000 American and more than 64,000 Filipino troops. Among those captured was Benjamin Martinez, who with other captives was forced to make the infamous Bataan Death March, a 60-mile trek through the jungle with little food or water. The captives were assaulted by Japanese soldiers, using bayonets and swords as well as firearms. By the time the march ended, 10,000 American and Filipino soldiers were dead. Benjamin Martinez was then sent to Camp O'Donnell and later moved to the Japanese island of Kyushu, where he spent the rest of the war. "He did everything from helping with mining to farming to manufacturing steel," David Martinez said. "It was everything the Japanese didn't want to do themselves, so they forced the prisoners to do it." During his imprisonment Imprisonment See also Isolation. Alcatraz Island former federal maximum security penitentiary, near San Francisco; “escapeproof.” [Am. Hist.: Flexner, 218] Altmark, the German prison ship in World War II. [Br. Hist. , Benjamin Martinez was severely beaten by his guards numerous times, including once when he was caught wearing a pair of boots taken from a deceased soldier as ordered by a prison guard. Another guard saw the boots and didn't understand Benjamin Martinez had been ordered to put them on. "They very well beat him to death with the butt of their rifles," David Martinez said. "Anything the Japanese could do to inflict pain and hurt, they would do. They called our soldiers scum of the earth because they chose to surrender rather than commit suicide." Despite the hardships, the prisoners "never gave up the hope they would eventually be liberated," David Martinez said. "A lot of them clung to their religious faith, and that definitely helped." As the war drew to a close, the Japanese began to change their way of doing things, becoming less brutal to the prisoners. At the same time, however, the prisoners were worried that the Japanese had been ordered to kill them all. That didn't happen. "One day, they (the prisoners) woke up to an empty camp," David Martinez said. "Then (Allied aircraft) airlifted food into the camps. The prisoners also needed a lot of medical attention." Benjamin Martinez returned to Santa Fe and was in the construction business for a short time after the war. He later worked for the U.S. Postal Service The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) processes and delivers mail to individuals and businesses within the United States. The service seeks to improve its performance through the development of efficient mail-handling systems and operates its own planning and engineering programs. . "He had to retire early because of his years as a prisoner of war PRISONER OF WAR. One who has been captured while fighting under the banner of some state. He is a prisoner, although never confined in a prison. 2. In modern times, prisoners are treated with more humanity than formerly; the individual captor has now no ," David Martinez said. Benjamin Martinez was reluctant to speak of his wartime experiences, his son said, although he did attend the Bataan Day ceremonies held every year in Santa Fe on April 9. "But there were a lot of things he didn't want to share," David Martinez said. "It was just too painful." In addition to his wife of 62 years, Maida A. Martinez, and son David Martinez, Benjamin E. Martinez is survived by his children Anna Castellano, Carlos Martinez, Patty Romero and Benjamin E. Martinez Jr. Contact Bob Quick at 986-3011 or bobquick@ sfnewmexican.com. |
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