Louis Lyon Martin

1921 - 2022

Louis Lyon Martin
October 5, 1921 - August 29, 2022
Chapel Hill, North Carolina - Louis Lyon Martin was born on October 5, 1921 in Seattle, Washington, the son of retired Field Artillery Lt. Col. T.C. Martin and Gertrude Martin. Lou was the youngest of four siblings with sisters Bettie and Addie Louise and brother Bill. When Lou was six months old the family moved to Altadena, California where Lou lived until he received an appointment to West Point in July, 1942. He spent much of his early years in California swimming and boating off Balboa Island during the summers and hunting jack rabbits in the Mojave Desert during the winters. There were many more shots fired than rabbits bagged but Lou ultimately became an excellent shot. His skill was such that he achieved a number 2 ranking in qualifying with the M-1 rifle at West Point.
Lou was inspired by an uncle who was a West Point graduate to seek an appointment of his own. He attended the academy on an accelerated schedule due to World War II and graduated in June 1945. Lou's time at West Point was further shortened by his choosing Air Cadets which required flight training at Uvalde, Texas during his junior year and basic and advanced pilot training during his senior year.
After graduation Lou went through additional pilot training in B-25's and B-24's. He was then assigned to Fritzlar, Germany where he flew P-47's and A-26's. After the base at Fritzlar closed he was assigned to Zepplinhein Air Ammunition Depot until its closure at which time he reported to Wheelus Field in Tripoli, Libya. As part of reopening the base at Wheelus Field, Lou and other officers flew a C47 to Algiers to hire administrative staff. On the way back and 10,000 feet over Tunisia, Lou interviewed French nationals one of whom, Andree Guillemin, would later become his wife. They were married in Beaumont, California on December 24, 1948 after Lou returned to the states and joined the 93rd Bomb Wing in Merced to fly B-29's.
Some of Lou's other achievements and assignments during his Air Force career include: completing a graduate course in Aeronautical Engineering at the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson (his son Paul was born at this time); flying night intruder missions in B-26's in Korea until the war ended (his daughter Jeanne was born during his tour); working in parachute R&D at Wright-Patterson; serving as Air Force representative with the Army Airborne and Electronics Board at Fort Bragg; serving as a Research & Development Director at Air Force Systems Command at Bolling; reporting to the 50th Troop Carrier Squadron on Taiwan during the Vietnam War to fly C-130's all over SE Asia; and heading the Technical Applications Office at HQ AFSC.
To prepare for life after his military career, Lou took night courses at American University and completed an MS in Physics. He retired from the Air Force in February 1970. After retirement, Lou taught high school math and science for a year in Maryland before moving to North Carolina and building a house in Hampstead. He taught physics, math, and electronics for a time at the community college and became active in the homeowners association and in fund raising for the volunteer fire department. Lou joined Topsail Presbyterian Church in 1990 where he developed many loving friendships and served as an Elder. His final years were spent living with his daughter and son-in-law in Chapel Hill.
Lou is survived by his son Paul Martin, daughter Jeanne Martin and her spouse Ken Howell, daughter-in-law Louise Sabotin, grandson Phillip Martin and his spouse Rebecca Belcastro, and his great grandson Finley Martin. There will be visitation at Topsail Presbyterian Church at 10:00 am on September 17, 2022 followed by a service at 11:00 am. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to The Nature Conservancy or to Topsail Presbyterian Church.
Share online condolences with the family at www.andrewsmortuary.com.