Dewey Dallas Martin - Hollywood Actor

[keith A]

This actor served in the USN in WW2. The first part of this bio seems accurate. The second, at best, has issues. There is no way he fought as a pilot at Midway in 1942, and his time as a POW seems pure fantasy. Does anyone know if he actually saw combat?


Martin joined the United States Navy in 1940. In November 1942, he was one of a few enlisted sailors from Naval Air Technical Training Center Norman, Oklahoma selected for pre-flight training with the opportunity to earn a commission as an officer and become a naval aviator. In April 1943, he was transferred to pre-flight training at the CAA War Training Service School in Natchitoches, Louisiana. At the time of his transfer, he was an Aviation Metalsmith 2nd Class and served as the Aviation Metalsmith School storekeeper. In November 1943, he was transferred to Navy-Preflight School in Athens, Georgia. In June 1944, he was assigned to at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida after completing primary flight training in Dallas, Texas. He served as a fighter pilot in the Pacific Theater of the war.

Dewey became a pilot and flew Grumman F4F Wildcat and Grumman F6F Hellcats in the Pacific Theater. He fought in the Battle of Midway and ditched his Wildcat in the ocean because his carrier was damaged. You don't get more heroic than that! But that's not all. He later was shot down in 1945 and became a guest of the Japanese until the surrender.

regards

Keith