Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
7:42 | Since the events in Vedriano left him without a battalion surgeon, Martinez's unit was assigned a new one. Occasionally during this time, they were paired up with British troops, and Martinez recalls them behaving differently than US troops. Finally, his unit arrived at the Po Valley and then were assigned to Verona, Italy shortly after. (This interview made possible with the support of HELEN & ED BUDNY.)
Keywords : Ben Martinez battalion surgeon Po Valley British Verona Italy training winter sick call Rome Italy Florence Italy R&R(Rest and Recreation) disease aid station Spearhead regiment English soldiers Panaro River infantry shot up Alps Bojano Italy tanks
Ben Martinez grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. He originally enlisted for the US Army Air Corps, but before that he attended pharmacy school. Being very skillful in the medical field, and having failed his Air Corps physical, he instead went on to become a medic for the Army. During his entire time serving he never fired a single weapon, he only evacuated and patched up his fellow men. (This interview made possible with the support of HELEN & ED BUDNY.)
When he was sent to work as a pharmacist in the airbase at Lake Charles, LA, Martinez learned very quickly that his 18 years of schooling would come in handy. Immediately, he was placed above average in his class, which gave him an advantage when he went through training at OCS. After he completed his training, he went back to his hometown of New Orleans to work in a nearby hospital. (This interview made possible with the support of HELEN & ED BUDNY.)
After finishing his training at OCS and his work at Laguardia General Hospital, Martinez was shipped overseas to Naples, Italy and was the immediate replacement for one of two doctors within his unit. His first task was to aid in the evacuation of fellow soldiers during combat in Europe. (This interview made possible with the support of HELEN & ED BUDNY.)
During his time aiding the fight in Italy, Martinez remembers his first battle in Lajatico just before approaching the Arno River. After that, the next big mission was getting to Castel del Rio on the Gothic line. All the while more and more casualties were piling up on the medical team, meaning they always had to conduct treatments quickly and efficiently. (This interview made possible with the support of HELEN & ED BUDNY.)
Unfortunately, Martinez's job overseas could not be completed without some wrench in the works. He remembers two significant medical supply failures, which he talks about here. In addition, he remembers a sergeant who lost his sanity after he got word that his brother had been killed. This happened during the evacuation and aiding the wounded at Mt. Capello, all while having the pressure of being constantly under fire. (This interview made possible with the support of HELEN & ED BUDNY.)
After the incidents that went down at Mt. Capello, Martinez and his unit proceeded to the Po Valley. Sadly, before reaching the Po Valley, they ran into another incident at Vedriano; one of their companies was captured by enemy soldiers. (This interview made possible with the support of HELEN & ED BUDNY.)
During his time in the service, Ben Martinez received at least two Bronze Stars that he remembers. After the war was finally over, he had a hiatus period and then he finally came home. During that time, he was part of the 890th Clearing Company. Finally, he returned to his home in New Orleans on Christmas day of 1945. (This interview made possible with the support of HELEN & ED BUDNY.)
