Marine Sgt. Shawn P. Martin

Remember Our Heroes

Marine Sgt. Shawn P. Martin, 30, of Delmar, N.Y.

Sgt. Martin was assigned to Combat Logistics Battalion 13, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died June 20, 2007 while conducting combat operations in Saqlawiyah. Also killed was Staff Sgt. Stephen J. Wilson.

Upstate N.Y. Marine killed in Iraq
The Associated Press

BETHLEHEM, N.Y. — A Marine from Delmar was killed in Iraq when a roadside bomb went off in the city of Saqlawiyah, according to family members.

Shawn Martin, 30, died June 20, said Terry Hannigan, an attorney acting as family spokesman.

Before his deployment overseas, the Bethlehem native worked as a firefighter.

“He wanted to be the guy going in and taking care of everybody. He would do whatever he needed to do to get the job done,” said Elsmere fire captain Rick Zigrosser.

Martin married his wife, Marianne, in 2002. He grew up in Delmar, but most recently lived in California when he wasn’t overseas.

He was an ordinance specialist, Combat Logistic Battalion 13, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

Family, friends remember Marine killed in Iraq
The Associated Press

The last time Marine Sgt. Shawn P. Martin’s family heard from him was the day he arrived in Iraq, May 22. He e-mailed his family that day: “I thank God that I wake up every morning and put on this uniform with the knowledge of knowing that for all that I sacrifice today allows you all to have a safer and brighter tomorrow. Again I thank you all for all the support you give me and my brothers in arms. All my love. Shawn.”

Martin, 30, of Delmar, N.Y., was killed June 20 while conducting combat operations in Anbar province. He was assigned to Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Before graduating high school in 1995, he played football from 1991 until his senior year. After graduation, he joined the same fire department his father and grandfather had been part of.

“He climbed all over the fire trucks when he was a kid. He wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps. He always said he couldn’t wait to join,” family friend Tom Heffernan said.

“He wanted to be the guy going in and taking care of everybody. He would do whatever he needed to do to get the job done,” said Elsmere fire captain Rick Zigrosser.

He is survived by his wife Marianne.

Marine Sgt. Shawn P. Martin was killed in action on 7/20/07.