SUGARCREEK TOWNSHIP — A World War II Veteran who passed away earlier this month is going to be honored in his hometown.
A statue of Jim “Pee Wee” Martin will be constructed at the corner of Feedwire and Upper Bellbrook Roads in Sugarcreek Township.
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It may be an empty field not but it soon will be a Veterans Memorial and will be where Jim “Pee Wee” Martin’s statue will stand.
News Center 7′s Kayla McDermott said the statue will be surrounded by several flags including the American flag, P.O.W. flag and flags for each branch of the military.
The statue will be built to Pee Wee’s likeness.
He will be in his military uniform with gear he would have worn in the battlefield during World War II.
McDermott went to Jim “Pee Wee” Martin earlier this month and multiple times, Pee Wee was called a hero.
A hero who loved the community of Sugarcreek Township and because that and what he did during World War II, he will be honored with a statue.
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Pee Wee was best known as a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division and a member of the Screaming Eagles.
He parachuted into Normandy on D-Day and was one of the first Allied soldiers to infiltrate Nazi France, jumped in Operation Market Garden and in the Battle of the Buldge.
When the statue is done, it will stand between eight to 10 feet tall.
McDermott said Pee Wee knew about the statue before his passing earlier this month and initially said no to the idea but later agreed as long as the names of his fellow comrades who he jumped into Normandy on D-Day with were also remembered.
“Jim is representing all of those who served in World War II with this statue,” said Barry Tiffany, Sugarcreek Township’s Administrator.
The community is honored Pee Wee chose to liver here for over 80 years and interact with the public and government as much as he did, according to Tiffany.
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Construction on the memorial will begin in the spring.
Pee Wee’s granddaughter, Jodi Martin, has a timeline for the statue.
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