First Lieutenant Guy V. Martin, Jr.

Lieutenant Martin (Army ordinance, active duty 1969-71), was born June 2, 1947, in El Paso, Texas, to his parents, Guy V. and Eula V. Martin, while his father was stationed at Fort Bliss as an artillery captain. Lieutenant Martin was reared at Army bases from the Presidio in California to Fort Buchanan in Puerto Rico, and then after his father was honorably discharged in 1953 with a 100% disability because he had been wounded in WWII and again in Korea. Lieutenant Martin moved with his family to their cattle farm north of Trussville, Alabama. He graduated from Hewitt Trussville High School in 1965 as valedictorian and president of his student council.

He chose the Navy first becoming a Navy ROTC midshipman at Vanderbilt University until his dad’s health issues caused him to transfer to Army ROTC. He graduated in 1969 with a B.S Degree in Economics, magna cum laude.

After training at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland, and Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, he served as a procurement officer in the 40 millimeter program at the Ammunition Procurement and Supply Agency (APSA) in Wilmington, Illinois, and then in Vietnam (1970-71), first in Da Nang and then at USARV HQ, Long Binh where he served under an outstanding general, Major General James J. Ursano whose influence almost inspired him to make a career out of the Army, but his father’s poor health brought him back to Alabama. He was discharged from military service in Oakland, California.

After his military service, Mr. Martin used the GI Bill to earn a Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1974, graduating first in his class. He worked as a commercial real estate finance attorney in Birmingham, AL, and as an adjunct professor at the University of Alabama School of Law and the Birmingham School of Law. He retired in 2020.

Mr. Martin and his wife, Lynne Torbert Martin, from Hurtsboro, Alabama, have been married 46 years and have three children and three grandchildren. As President of National Junior Achievement, he has given speeches across the country extolling the virtues of free enterprise. He has served as director of the Foundry Ministries and Christian Life Center, a Boy Scout leader (He and his three sons are Eagle Scouts.), lay pastor in Protestant churches and as a youth director. He and his wife are members of Wesley Methodist Church in Montgomery.

Mr. Martin is a prolific writer, having written several op-ed’s, including “Lessons from Roy Moore’s Law Professor” and “A Tale of Two Sites” (both in al.com), “Stallings Restored Hope to Parents of Children with Down Syndrome,” (Montgomery Advertiser, 3/30/2025) and writings regarding the United Methodist Church. Soon to be published is an article regarding his template to revitalize religion. A Ruby Life Master in bridge, he won a national event with his son in 2022, and he has written pieces on the advantages for children and adults for playing bridge. He enjoys tennis, farming, gardening, travel and watching ducks and Canada Geese land on the lake that he built behind his house on his cattle farm south of Montgomery.

Regarding what his military service has meant to him: “I have great respect for the educational, ethical and skill levels of Navy, Marine and Army officers that I’ve worked with as well as those of my Korean counterparts in Vietnam. I have zero respect for politicians who mangled the Bay of Pigs invasion,

engaged in Vietnam against the advice of our military (including MacArthur on his deathbed) and once engaged, failed to follow the advice of boots on the ground soldiers that prevented us from winning. Compared to those mistakes, when you arrive in a war zone, being told not to shoot unless you’re shot at, is merely a minor footnote proving how unsmart our leaders were. You never get over reading in the Stars and Stripes what politicians like Senator McGovern said that they saw in Vietnam. (He called the Vietnamization program a failure which it wasn’t)–much less the sights of Jane Fonda wearing an NVA helmet and sitting on an NVA anti-aircraft weapon.”

“On a positive note, it’s hard to imagine a better two years in terms of preparing me for challenges to come. Military service gives you a severe re-set on how smart and tough you think you are–winning the 880 in track is nothing compared to carrying your buddy through a swamp (which I did only in training) being one of many examples; working with a general with a photographic memory and Korean officers who can speak five languages and quote from Sun Tzu others; what soldiers go through to be a Navy pilot, a Seal sniper, an Army Ranger and Airborne qualified (I was none of those, but I saw training films and what those types could do)–brings you down to earth. It provides a perspective on religion you don’t get as a civilian: you never feel closer to God than you do in harm’s way. An unshakable bond with your comrades is formed and thus a taste of how united we all could be under God regardless of race or religion or political bent. My best chaplain was Jewish who’d qualified expert on his M16 and could preach on Christ with the best. Every youngster I’ve advised to enter the military (including the Coast Guard) has thanked me over the years.”