Paul "Pablo" Martinez was born in San Antonio, Texas. While still attending school, Paul decided he wanted to join the military and do his part in the fight against his country's enemies.
Near the end of the summer break after his sophomore year of high school, Paul went to Fort Sam Houston and walked toward the enlistment office.
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When he entered the office, Paul was asked a number of questions by a soldier at the front desk. When he was asked his age, Paul said 18. Noticing Paul's youthful appearance and thin build, the soldier had a real cautious look on his face and asked for his date of birth. Paul was prepared for this moment and answered the question very quickly and confidently with a date of birth that verified he was eighteen years old. Paul's quick answer must have satisfied the soldier, because he went on to the next question. Little did that soldier know that it was Paul's older brother's date of birth that he had so quickly rattled off when the question was asked, but it seemed to have worked.
Next Paul was asked what branch of the service he wanted to be in. Since he had grown up in Texas, Paul had a natural interest in horses, so he mentioned this interest and said he'd like to join the calvary. After the soldier explained to Paul that horses were no longer used, he showed him a picture of one of the tanks that had replaced them. Paul didn't want anything to do with sitting inside a big machine, so he immediately lost interest and told the soldier to forget the whole thing.
As Paul started to walk away, the soldier yelled for him to wait a minute. "Is it action you're after?" he asked, "It sure is" answered Paul. The soldier reached into a drawer in his desk, pulled out a blue and red brochure, and showed it to Paul. On the cover of the brochure was an image of a helmeted soldier preparing to jump out of a doorway. Below the image in red lettering were the words, "JUMP INTO THE FIGHT" and inside were pictures of soldiers gliding to earth with a parachute above them.
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| Cover of the 1942 paratrooper recruitment brochure |
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| Image of a paratrooper gliding down from one of the high training towers |
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| A page from inside the paratrooper recruiting brochure |
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"Are you joking, I've never even been in an airplane?" asked Paul. "But wait, here is the best part" said the soldier as he opened up the brochure further and pointed to the box outlined in red on the last page. Paul looked closer and right away his eyes caught the words "Parachutists are paid $50 monthly in addition to the pay of their respective grades".
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That was all the extra motivation Paul needed. An extra $50 per month would make a big difference in his life and the life of his single mother he would be leaving behind. So on August 15, 1942, Paul officially became a paratrooper recruit at the ripe ole' age of 16.
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| An extra $50 for jump pay! |
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