GREENE COUNTY — More than a dozen parachutists took to the sky for an event in honor of a World War II Veteran from Greene County.
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Jim “Pee Wee” Martin lived in Sugarcreek Township. He died in 2022 at the age of 101. Martin was a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division.
He jumped on D-Day, June 6, 1944, and was a member of the “Screaming Eagles.”
As reported on News Center 7 at 5:00, Martin has a special connection with his hometown community in Greene County.
The community gathered to compete in parachuting in his honor on Friday.
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News Center 7’s Mason Fletcher spoke with Pee Wee Martin’s granddaughter at the jump site in Xenia.
“He would smile and say, ‘Isn’t that something?’” said Jodie Martin-Pewterbaugh.
As she pulled up to the event, Pee Week’s granddaughter saw dozens of people gathered for the jump.
Jodie told Fletcher that she got chills.
“Just to know that people have continued his legacy and want to continue as a legacy makes your heart kind of warm and fuzzy, just knowing that it’s for your grandfather,” Martin-Pewterbaugh said.
Pee Wee Martin did jumps all around the world. However, skydiving in Greene County is a special place for the family, where he made multiple jumps.
“We’ve actually had four generations jump here, starting with my grandpa, then my dad, I think in 1987,” said Martin-Pewterbaugh.
She recalled a special moment on his 100th birthday, when she was jumping alongside him for the first time.
“I’m afraid of heights. And my grandpa sadly pointed his finger, and he said, ‘Once you make that jump, you’ll be on the pair, that paratrooper family, for the rest of your life,’” she said.
On Friday, parachutists jumped from over 1,000 feet and tried to land on a target. The team that got closest to the center took home the trophy.
“This is going to be a long-standing event competition in Jim Peewee Martin’s name,” said Eric Lewis.
Next month, Pee Wee’s hometown, Sugarcreek Township, will unveil his statue.
“That project started before he passed away, so we’ve been working on it for about five years,” said Martin-Pewterbaugh. “We’re finally getting to hear it’s going to be this product.”
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