'This is my home': 98-year-old WWII, Korean and Vietnam veteran returns to Port Huron

Wrapped in a red coat, 98-year-old George McMartin stared out at Lake Huron's blue water at Lakeside Beach Thursday. His wheelchair sat on a mat at the shore's edge.

Happy, his Yorkshire Terrier, sat in his lap. McMartin had a smile across his face.

"It' just a great place," he said. 

McMartin was returning home.

McMartin, an Army veteran of World War II, and the Vietnam and Korean wars, returned to his native Port Huron this week for his 99th birthday.

“It’s just good to be back in Michigan,” he said. “This is my home territory and has been for many years.”

And many members of his hometown stepped up to welcome him with open arms.

His daughter's boyfriend, James Barker, posted to a Port Huron Facebook page on April 22 asking for help with getting McMartin onto the beach and onto a boat on the water.

The post garnered 216 responses offering help and was eventually brought to the attention of the city.

“I understand why Dad’s biggest wish was to go back there,” said his daughter, Patricia McMartin. “The people there have the biggest hearts on the planet.”

Port Huron Mayor Pauline Repp presented George McMartin with a certificate of recognition for his service through his 35-year military career and his love of the city in a ceremony at the Doubletree Hotel’s lobby Wednesday.

He was accompanied by Barker, his daughter and his wife of 75 years, Cheryle McMartin. Cheryle sat next to him during the ceremony, occasionally reaching out to hold his hand.

Cheryle McMartin was later honored that day by the Ladies’ Auxiliary.

Repp also presented George McMartin with a city pin and a Port Huron history book. Marcy Fogal, president of the Blue Water Convention Association, presented McMartin with an oil painting of the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse, where his grandfather Peter McMartin was keeper from 1859 to 1861. Kati Gardner, Port Huron recreation supervisor, said a brick will be laid at international flag plaza near the Blue Water Bridge to commemorate his service and trip to the city.

Later Wednesday, the McMartins took a boat ride on a pilot boat on the river with the Lake Pilots’ Association, organized in conjunction with the parks department.

Patricia McMartin said they got close enough to touch a freighter and saw the U.S. Coast Guard Hollyhock. 

"He was just in heaven," his daughter said. 

George's early years

Patricia McMartin said her father grew up in the Port Huron and Detroit area. His father was an executive at a Chrysler plant along the St. Clair River.

George McMartin often spoke of his memories of Port Huron, his favorite of which included the water. He loved to build model sailboats out of wood and sail them on the water, his daughter said. 

She said in his youth, he liked to swim in the lake as far out as he could, even when the water was frigid, and watch the freighters go by.

During his visit this week, Patricia McMartin said he sat in the lobby of the Doubletree to watch freighters sail on the St. Clair River, pointing out information about the ships based on their nautical flags.

"I don't think he's stop smiling the whole time," Patricia McMartin said of his visit. 

As a child, he also loved to attend what was then St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.

George McMartin has always told his daughter that nothing compares to Port Huron’s coney dogs, she said.

As an avid sports fan, he played baseball on the beach with his friends in the summer and hockey in the winter.

His love of the Detroit Tigers has continued to this day. On Friday, a local car club will escort the McMartins out of town, after which the family will head to Detroit for a Tigers game.

“Dad is probably the biggest Tigers baseball fan that ever lived,” Patricia McMartin said.

The McMartin family has their roots in the area. Early in his visit, George McMartin attended Lakeside Cemetery for a ceremony performed by a deacon at Grace Episcopal Church to visit the graves of his family, including his parents. His grandparents and parents were born in the area.

“Indirectly, it’s the birthplace of our family,” George McMartin said.

George McMartin's later years

George McMartin was drafted in WWII when he was in college, where he joined the medical service corps, Patricia McMartin said.

Patricia McMartin said her father worked under Michael DeBakey’s team that developed the mobile army surgical hospital concept in World War II, which were designed to bring medical care to soldiers close to the front lines.

The MASH concept was rolled out in the Korean War, where he served as MASH commander for a couple two-year stints, his daughter said. 

During the Vietnam War, George McMartin contributed to the development of a system that transferred soldiers’ medical records between different locations to provide better continuity of care.

While he would travel around the world, George McMartin never returned permanently to Michigan, only coming back to visit family and friends. 

After his retirement from the military in 1978, he continued to serve in the Texas Department of Health and Human Services. 

After his retirement from the state department, he dedicated his time to serving the elderly in the Austin, Texas, area by working multiple nonprofits, including local food banks, meals on wheels programs and housing programs.

When Patricia McMartin and Barker told George McMartin he could travel anywhere he liked, he said the only place he wanted to visit one last time was Port Huron. 

"I love Port Huron," George McMartin said. "I love Michigan."

Contact Laura Fitzgerald at (810) 941-7072 or at lfitzgeral@gannett.com.