He was killed by locals two and a half weeks after he and Dieter Dengler escaped from a Pathet Lao prison camp.

[2][3] Martin became a commissioned officer in the United States Air Force on February 5, 1963 at Lackland AFB.

[5][2] Pilot Thomas J. Curtis, crew chief William A. Robinson, and pararescue specialist Arthur Black were captured by the North Vietnamese Army and later freed during Operation Homecoming.

[6] Dengler and Martin found a fast-flowing river they believed fed into the Mekong and built a raft to escape.

Dengler eventually managed to locate Martin's discarded carbine cartridges and used the powder to start the fire.

[8][6][9][3] After 17 days on the run, Martin decided to try to steal food from a nearby Akha village.

[5] In the 2007 film Rescue Dawn, which told the story from Dengler's point of view, Martin was portrayed by actor Steve Zahn.