Lieutenant Colonel Eugene Vernon Martin, Jr (Retired U.S. Air Force), 87 years old, of Virginia Beach, Virginia, peacefully passed away in Bradenton, Florida on January 1, 2024, surrounded by his family.
Gene Martin was born in Virginia Beach, VA, in 1936 to Eugene Vernon Martin, Sr and Dorothy Martin, and attended Virginia Beach High School where he was active in sports and academic clubs. He was selectively accepted to Virginia Military Institute and graduated in 1958 with an Electrical Engineering degree before entering the United States Air Force pilot training program.
Gene honorably served our nation for twenty-one years and is a highly decorated combat fighter pilot from the Vietnam war and also supported the Cuban Missile crisis and countless other operations around the world. He retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1979 and transitioned into senior project management with Fluor Daniel International Corporation leading oil and gas construction projects in Saudia Arabia and primary senior executive supporting Proctor & Gamble construction projects in Cincinnati, Ohio, before retiring to Bradenton, Florida. Gene also honorably served for ten years as an elected city councilman for Sharonville, OH.
Gene was preceded in death by his father, mother and sister, Marilyn. He is survived by his brother, Lionel, who is also another Virginia Military Institute graduate and U.S. Army pilot; his wife, Peggy Ann Martin, and son, Michael Eugene Martin and wife, Cynthia; daughters, Gabriella and Olivia; and daughter Michelle Elizabeth Schmitz and husband, Scott, and their sons, Martin, William and Maxwell; and many nieces and nephews.
Services to be held at a later date. Brown & Sons Funeral Homes & Crematory 43rd Street Chapel, 604 43rd Street West, Bradenton, FL 34209, is in charge of arrangements.
