George Henry Martin, Senior Master Sergeant (USAF Ret.), age 80, of Pacifica, California, died Saturday, June 8, 2019, home.
Born August 19, 1938, in New Orleans, Louisiana, he was a son of the late Mr. Charles and Mrs. Gertrude Hebbler Martin.
George joined the Air Force in 1955 on his 17th birthday and began his Air Force career as an aircraft mechanic. In 1956, during Air Force Technical School at Sheppard AFB Texas, he met and married Air Force Veteran, Airman 3rd Class Elizabeth “Betty” Alderman, an Air Force Computer Programmer and native of Pocahontas County. Their first assignment together was at Eglin Air Force Base, Fort Walton Beach, Florida. He and Ms. Martin divorced in 1971.
A veteran of the Vietnam War, George was assigned to Danang Air Base Vietnam in 1967-1968. After returning stateside he cross-trained to be an Air Force Flight Engineer and continued as Flight Engineer on military C-124, C-130, C-141, C-5 aircraft. He completed 26 years of Honorable Military Service.
After his Air Force Career, SMSgt Martin completed a Baccalaureate Degree in Business Management in 1984 at Kennesaw College, in Atlanta, Georgia, courtesy of the Vietnam GI Bill. After graduation, he continued work as a civilian Flight Engineer Instructor for Flight International, an Atlanta, Georgia, based company, then as a Pilot Training Instructor for the Boeing 727 aircraft at Continental Airlines in Texas.
Lastly he was a Pilot Training Instructor and Flight Engineer on the Boeing 747 aircraft for United Parcel Service (UPS) in Louisville, Kentucky. While working for UPS, SMSgt Martin was called back to serve the country during Operation Desert Storm/Shield in 1991, as a civilian Flight Engineer flying UPS Boeing 747s which were called to service under the U.S. Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) Program, transporting military equipment to Southwest Asia. He was tickled that his Department of Defense I.D. card during this operation had his rank equivalent to a Lieutenant-Colonel, in case of capture/POW.
After SMSgt Martin’s Aviation career, he completed a Graduate’s Degree in Computer Science and joined the computer revolution in Silicon Valley.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his siblings, and his ex-wife, Ms. Elizabeth Martin.
He is survived by his partner, Ms. Sandra Favale; his daughters, Heather, Cathy, Trudy, Sabrina and Suzanne; his sons, George, Shawn, Brian and Brett; numerous grandchildren; and great-grandchildren.
SMSgt Martin was incredibly fond of his Siberian Husky pets. Donations may be made to: NorCal Sled Dog Rescue – NorSled P.O. Box 30877, Walnut Creek CA 94598.
