Hunter Martin-Puterbaugh, a sophomore studying finance, will be honoring his late great-grandfather, Jim "Pee Wee" Martin by skydiving where his great-grandfather once served in World War II.
Martin was an Allied paratrooper in the 101st Airborn Divison.
Hunter Martin-Puterbaugh is planning to travel to Normandy, France, on the 80th anniversary of D-Day, June 6, 2024, where he will be skydiving onto Normandy Beach.
According to Military.com, Martin was one of the first to jump into Normandy, France, during the invasion of France. Martin recently passed away at the age of 101 on Sept. 11, 2022.
Hunter Martin-Puterbaugh grew up watching his great-grandfather jump out of planes and now has the opportunity to follow and represent him.
“I am the fourth generation of Martins to jump out of planes,” Hunter Martin-Puterbaugh said.
Martin always told Hunter Martin-Puterbaugh when he was growing up that he wanted to skydive with him when he turned 100; however, Hunter Martin-Puterbaugh was only 17 when his great-grandfather turned 100, making him ineligible to skydive.
“So I couldn't (skydive), but my mom did it in his honor,“ Hunter Martin-Puterbaugh said. "Then on his 101st birthday, last summer, I was able to do a tandem which was my first skydive, and he was there. It was a pretty cool experience, him watching me jump on the plane and everything like that.”
Hunter Martin-Puterbaugh’s mother, Jodi Martin-Puterbaugh, says it gives her chills thinking about her son honoring his great-grandfather, her grandfather.
“When (Hunter) was five years old he witnessed my grandfather jump out of a plane at Green County skydive and at that time, my grandpa said, ‘When I'm 100, we'll do it together,'” she said.
Martin was always very supportive of his great-grandchildren.
After Martin’s wife passed away in 2019, Jodi Martin-Puterbaugh became very involved in her grandfather’s events and activities.
Hunter Martin-Puterbaugh has been training to be certified in skydiving leading up to the jump in France. Skydive Green County and Skydive Patlaka are working together to get him certified. Skydive Patlaka is in Patlaka, Florida, and Skydive Green County is in Xenia, Ohio, where Martin loved to spend time.
Kelly West is the daughter of the owner of Skydive Green County and runs all the operations of the skydiving company.
“When his great grandfather, Jim "Pee Wee" Martin came out for his birthday 100th birthday celebration several years ago, I asked Hunter if he was interested in packing parachutes, and he was,” West said. “We spent quite a bit of time hanging out a couple of summers ago, and then when he turned 18 I gifted a tandem skydive for his 18th birthday.”
In order for Hunter Martin-Puterbaugh to get his skydiving certification, he has to complete 25 jumps. He recently did his seventh jump, leaving 18 more jumps before June.
Hunter Martin-Puterbaugh also had to learn many safety precautions and what could possibly go wrong while skydiving in addition to the number of jumps he had to complete.
“It's a lot of just practicing and reiteration, you just keep your mind thinking about the safety procedures,” Hunter said.
The Martin-Puterbaugh family is funding the trip to France on their own, but have had people reach out for donations and support.
“We've already had people from France reach out and open their homes to us to stay so they treat you like you're a celebrity,” Jodi Martin-Puterbaugh said. “I’m just always saying, ‘I didn't do what my grandpa did.’”
For the past three years, the Martin-Puterbaugh family has been working on a statue of Martin.
“The statue will be placed in Sugarcreek Township, and that is where (Martin) called home for 75 years,” Jodi Martin-Puterbaugh said. “It'll be a life-sized statue, actually larger than life, and we're hoping that he's in his full parachute gear and it will resemble very much of what it looked like on D-Day when the guys made their jump.”
Karen Waldrup, a singer and music artist, wrote a song about Jim "Pee Wee” Martin right before he passed away. Her song, a tribute to him, has been played around the world receiving a standing ovation every time.
Hunter Martin-Puterbaugh’s dreams of honoring his grandfather are in full effect, making him recount how special this opportunity is for him.
“Being where my grandpa was all those years ago when he was getting shot at, outliers flying out, jumping out of the plane, it’s definitely going to be a surreal experience and hopefully one I'll remember forever,” Hunter Martin-Puterbaugh said.
More information about the Jim ‘Pee Wee’ Martin statue can be found here.
