U.S. Army, SGT. Abel E. Martinez 

SGT. Abel enlisted in the US Army on August the 3, 1942 in Santa Fe New Mexico and did his basic training at Fort Bliss, Texas.1 “He served in the US Army for over three years. Most of his time was spent in England and Europe. During World War II, Abel took part in the Invasion of France. On D-Day, he served with the Third Army and landed on the beach of Northern France just hours after the first wave. This was his first time in combat action. His unit disembarked from the landing barges, with the water just below their chest, they made their way to the beach and on to victory. He saw action in two major battles: the Battle of Northern France and the Battle of Normandy. He also participated in two other major battles: the Battle of the Ardennes and the Battle of the Rhineland. Abel was awarded four battle stars. After the surrender of Germany, he was transferred to the Philippine Islands. He left Marseille, France by boat and traveled through the Mediterranean Sea, across the Atlantic Sea, through the Panama Canal, across the Pacific Ocean, to Wake Island, Caroline Islands, and on to Luzon. The trip took 45 days and he landed in Luzon in August 1945. His unit landed in Philippines just in time for the Philippine Liberation. Abel spent Thanksgiving in Manila and by December he was on his way to the US. He arrived in San Francisco Bay just in time for Christmas. He spent Christmas in San Francisco and on December 26th he was on his way to Fort Bliss, Texas where he was Honorably Discharged on December 27, 1945.  

In January 1946, Abel resumed his High School studies and graduated from El Rito Normal School in May 1946. In September of the same year, he began his college studies at Adams State in Alamosa, Colorado. He received his BA and MA in Education from Adams State, he also did post graduate work above his MA at New Mexico Highlands University.”