Robert Leander Martin was born the sixth of six children in Dubuque, IA, 9 February 1919, to chiropodist (podiatrist) Dr. Henry Ambrose Martin and his wife, Mattie A. Martin.
Robert Martin flew 64 missions with the Tuskegee Airmen in WWII, was shot down in enemy territory, and received multiple awards for valor, including the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Purple Heart, seven awards of the Air Medal, and as a surviving member of the Tuskegee Airmen, a Congressional Gold Medal in 2007 that acknowledged the unit for their “unique military record that inspired revolutionary reform in the Armed Forces.” ( https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/congressional-gold-medal-tuskegee-airmen/nasm_I20071282001 ).
Martin married Odette C. Ewell 21 August 1950, and they had four children, Gabrielle, Noelle, Dominique, and Robert Martin Jr. After finding it difficult to get employment in electrical engineering because of his race and moving from one low-wage, service job to another, Martin finally secured a job as a draftsman with the Chicago Park District (https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/robert-leander-martin-1919-2018/) Robert Martin died in Olympia Fields, Cook County, Illinois, 26 July 2018, of pneumonia. In 2019, an Act of Congress renamed the US Post Office in Olympia Fields as the Capt. Robert Martin Post Office, and in Jul 2020, the Dubuque Regional Airport Commission voted to support renaming the airport terminal after Martin. Fundraising is now underway to complete that project.
