Captain Robert L. Martin Terminal

Who Was Captain Robert L. Martin?

Poster Photo 3
Martin Family
Robert Martin graduation
Mr. Martin
P-51
Mr. Martin Plane
Mr. Martin and Gabrielle in DBQ

Captain Robert L. Martin was born in Dubuque in February 1919.  After graduating Dubuque Senior High School in 1936, Captain Martin enrolled at Iowa State University where he graduated with an electrical engineering degree and a pilot's license.  Captain Martin was accepted to the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942.  Captain Martin then transferred to the Tuskegee Army Airfield in Alabama and became one of the original Tuskegee Airman, a Black segregated aviator group.  At the age of 23, Captain Martin graduated from the Tuskegee Army Air Field, 66th Flying Training Detachment, he received his wings and commission as a 2nd Lieutenant. He arrived in Italy where he joined the 100th Fighter Squadron, part of the all-Black 332nd Fighter Group.  While flying his 64th mission, he was hit by enemy fire, bailed out and landed behind enemy lines in Yugoslavia. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, the Air Medal with 6 Oak Leaf Clusters and as part of the Tuskegee Airmen group, Mr. Martin was present for the award of the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor.  After the war, he found work as an Electrical Engineer in Chicago, Illinois.  He spent his final decade in Olympia Fields, Illinois were he passed away on July 26, 2018.  

The FlyDBQ Campaign is a fundraising, naming and recognition method for public and private sectors to create a lasting legacy to honor family, friends and neighbors in a meaningful and visible way at the Dubuque Regional Airport. This campaign is designed to fairly and equitably ensure recognition of  generous contributions and ensure that philanthropic traditions are fostered.  Individuals or Organizations to be recognized at the Dubuque Regional Airport,  must have contributed to the tri-state area aviation community.  All naming rights will follow FAA Airport Compliance Rule 5190.6B and other applicable rules which state Airport proprietors must maintain a fee and rental structure to make the airport as financially self-sustaining as possible.

On June 16, 2020 - Ms. Dawnelle Gordon after reading a story regarding Captain Martin, Ms. Gordon created a Change.org petition to rename the Dubuque Regional Airport Terminal Building after Captain Martin.  This petition includes several links to more information about Captain Martin.  Ms. Gordon also filed an application to name the Dubuque Regional Airport Terminal Building located at 10965 Aviation Drive, Dubuque after Captain Robert L. Martin. 

On June 23, 2020 - Dubuque Regional Airport Commissioners received and filed the application and appointed a sub-committee to review and make a recommendation to the Airport Commission at its July 2020 meeting.

On July 21,2020 - Dubuque Regional Airport Commissioners voted unanimously to name the Dubuque Regional Airport Terminal Building after Captain Robert L. Martin.

On July 21, 2020 - Ms. Gordon as part of a collaborative group of Dubuque citizens and members of Captain Martin's family began $100,000 fundraising campaign in support of the application, to include memorial signage, an honorary plaque and educational materials including a video loop with major donor recognition.   

On July 19, 2022 - A ribbon cutting ceremony was held naming the terminal building after Captain Robert L. Martin.

Captain Robert L. Martin Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

July 19, 2022

Full Ceremony

Recap Ceremony

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ABOUT TUSKEGEE AIRMEN

BOOKS BY TUSKEGEE AIRMEN

I WANTED TO BE A PILOT: The Making of a Tuskegee Airman Franklin J. Macon and Elizabeth G. Harper A

TRAIN, MEMOIR OF A TUSKEGEE AIRMAN Lt. Colonel Charles Dryden

THE FREEMEN FIELD MUTINY – Tuskegee Airmen Story Lt. Colonel James Warren TUSKEGEE AIRMAN

The Biography of Charles E. McGee,, Air Force Fighter Combat Record Holder Charlene McGee-Smith BENJAMIN O. DAVIS, JR.

AMERICAN AUTOBIOGRAPHY Benjamin O. Davis TUSKEGEE ARMY AIR FIELD

1941-1945 Chicago DODO Chapter TAI RED TAIL CAPTURED, RED TAIL FREE: Memoir of a Tuskegee Airman and POW Lt. Colonel Alexander Jefferson with Lewis H. Carlson

SURVIVAL! A Purple Heart Tuskegee Airman John Steward Sloan, Sr. 

Central Alternative High School Project on Tuskegee Airmen

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

UD Welcomes Tuskegee Airmen

Central Alternative High School Program

Informational Movies about Captain Martin

Overcome & Persevere

Bravery Under Fire

Life of Service

Information about Captain Martin

Poster Photo 1

MOVIES AND FILMS ABOUT TUSKEGEE AIRMEN

The Tuskegee Airmen (1996) Produced by Bill Carraro

Redtails (2010) Produced by Lucas Film Ltd 

Double Victory (2020), A Lucas Film Production

Tuskegee Airmen, Legacy of Color (2020)

 A History Channel production by Robin Roberts of ABC’s Good Morning America

 Double Victory: The Tuskegee Airmen at war (2020) Lucasfilm 


WESITES AND MUSEUMS ABOUT THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN

NATIONAL TUSKEGEE AIRMEN WEBSITE - Click Here 

MUSEUMS, HISTORICAL SITES, MEMORIALS, EXHIBITS, COMPILATIONS, ETC. ABOUT TUSKEGEE AIRMEN

Today the Tuskegee Airmen have several memorials in place to perpetuate the memory of who they were, why they were, and what they accomplished during and after the adverse conditions to which they were subjected, including:

Memorial Park at the Air Force Museum Wright-Patterson AFB Dayton, Ohio

A statue of a Tuskegee Airmen in the Honor Park at the U.S. Air Force Academy Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior Moton Field in Tuskegee Visitor Center Chappie James Avenue Tuskegee, AL Click here

Tuskegee Heritage Museum 109 Westside Street Tuskegee, AL

George Washington Carver Museum Tuskegee University Tuskegee, AL

Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site Quarter- The site quarter will be the last strike in the U.S. Mint’s America the Beautiful Quarters Program. The coin will be the 56th and final coin in the series.

MUSEUMS INCLUDE: 

National Park Service Tuskegee Airmen Historic Site Alabama: https://www.nps.gov/tuai/index.htm 

Smithsonian Air and Space Museum: Click here 

The National WWII Museum New Orleans: Click here

The Tuskegee Airmen National Historical Museum: Click here 

Pritzker Military Museum: Click here 

National Museum of the United States Air Force: Click here  

ORAL HISTORY PROJECTS- IN THEIR OWN WORDS

The Tuskegee Airmen Oral History Project and Oral History in the National Park Service Todd Moye: Click here  

History Channel: Click here 


RESOURCE LIBRARIES - COLLECTIONS OF TUSKEGEE AIRMEN INFORMATION, ORAL HISTORIES

UC Riverside Tuskegee Airmen Collections: Click here

BOOKS ABOUT TUSKEGEE AIRMEN, BLACKS IN AVIATION LONELY EAGLES: 

Lonely Eagles - The Story of America’s Black Air Force (Tuskegee Airmen) in World War II Robert A. Rose 

TUSKEGEE AIRMEN: American Heroes Lynn M. Homan and Thomas Reilly 

Black Knights The Story of the Tuskegee Airmen Lynn M. Homan and Thomas Reilly 

RED TAILS BLACK WINGS: The Men of America’s Black Air Force John Holway 

332nd FIGHTER GROUP: TUSKEGEE AIRMEN (Aviation Elite Units) Chri Buckhjolz 

FREEDOM FLYERS: The Tuskegee Airmen of World War II (Oxford Oral History Series) Todd J. Moye

BLACK WINGS: Courageous Stories of African Americans in Aviation and Space History Von Hardesty

TUSKEGEE AIRMEN: The Men Who Changed a Nation Charles E. Francis and Adolph Caso

DOUBLE V: The Civil Rights Struggle of the Tuskegee Airmen Lawrence P. Scott and William M. Womack 

BLACK AVIATOR: The Story of William J. Powell William J. Powell

VIEW FROM THE BACK OF THE BUS DURING WWII AND BEYOND Dempsey J. Travis

BLACK FLIGHT – BREAKING BARRIERS Dr. Albert Forsyth

SOARING ABOVE SETBACKS Janet Harmon Bragg, Marjorie M. Kriz