For Eliu Martinez, the Memorial Day service at the Veteran’s Memorial Wall by the Española Plaza was a family event.
The names of Martinez and six of his relatives are etched onto the wall, and a seventh is currently applying for a spot.
About 50 people, most of them veterans of World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars and veterans’ family members, attended the May 25 ceremony.
American Legion Post 17 Commander Max Vigil gave World War II veteran Melquiades Manzanares, 92, an award, citing his avid participation in veterans’ events. Vigil lamented the fact that few people attend veterans’ events, including this year’s Memorial Day service.
“It’s sad that for so many people, this day is just a day home from work, or home from school, or to go have a picnic,” Vigil said.
As for Martinez, he said he attends the service every year.
“I come to honor my brothers,” Martinez, 82, of Alcalde, said.
The list of veterans in his family starts with Martinez’s father, Adolfo, a World War I veteran.
Three of Martinez’s brothers — Aniver, Deloy and Margarito — served in World War II. He said Deloy was a Marine, and Aniver fought in the Battle of the Bulge and in Normandy with the 82nd Airborne Division. A fourth brother, Frank, and Martinez’s nephew, Kenny, both served in the Vietnam War.
A second nephew, Deloy Martinez Jr., fought in the Korean War, Martinez said.
Eliu Martinez joined the armed forces and shipped off to Europe at 16, just as World War II was ending, and was soon deployed to the first of his three tours in Korea.
“I’d just gotten married; I was about 18 by then,” he said. “I got married to a girl from Spain, a Basque, and we were crossing the border into France, and the border patrol took her off the train. I never saw her again.”
Martinez went on to spend 22 years in the armed forces, most of them in elite units and 14 with the Green Berets.
Following Korea, Martinez spent seven years in Latin America training counter-guerrilla troops and administering first aid in rural villages.
“That was my best tour,” he said. “Except a lot of times, in those Latin American revolutions, you hardly knew which side to take.”
Martinez’ military career ended with a year-long tour in Vietnam, where he participated in three still-classified missions.