For some Veterans, service is a single chapter. For Martin Martinez, it’s a family inheritance that never really ended, it just changed instruments.
Ask Martin Martinez for the one moment that inspired him to join the military, and he’ll tell you there isn’t one. There’s a whole family tree of them.
His grandfather served in the Army.
His uncle served in the Navy.
His father served in the Army during Vietnam before moving to the Air Force.
Growing up surrounded by those examples, Martinez always knew he’d find his own way to serve.
He just didn’t know what it would look like until the opportunity came.
“My family’s commitment to duty and to serve, across generations, inspired me to follow that path,” he said.
He broke from tradition just slightly, becoming the only one in the family to wear the Marine Corps uniform.
Before the Marine Corps, there was music. Martinez grew up playing percussion, and that passion followed him into the Marine Drum & Bugle Corps.
One performance has stayed with him ever since: playing the national anthem at a NASCAR race in Richmond, Virginia, in front of thousands of fans, with a military flyover overhead.
Moments after the music ended, he remembers the roar of engines taking over as drivers started their cars: two powerful symbols of the country, back to back.
“It was incredibly motivating and inspiring,” he said. “Everyone’s cheering on America, and then you have this incredible power of Americana right afterward.” The performance made national news.
The footage is grainy now, he admits with a laugh, and he can’t quite pick himself out of the crowd anymore; but he knows he was there.
Martinez credits music with teaching him discipline long before the Marine Corps did.
Preparation, attention to detail and putting the team ahead of individual recognition are lessons came first from instructors and a mother who never let him settle for “good enough.”
The Marine Corps built on that foundation, reinforcing the Warrior Ethos of honor, courage and commitment.
Together, those influences shaped how Martinez defines leadership: not about rank or being the loudest voice in the room, but about setting the standard and taking care of the people around you.
When he left the Marine Corps in 2010, he stood in front of his unit and told them he might be done serving in uniform, but he wasn’t done serving. More than 15 years later, he has kept that promise.
Martinez traces much of his work ethic to his parents.
His father instilled the importance of service, while his mother taught him the value of repetition.
As a young musician, “do it again” was a phrase he heard often, from his mother and his instructors alike.
That environment taught him something else, too: how to take criticism and use it to get better, whether the work is performing music, public speaking or leading a team. “You’ve got to be able to take criticism and hear what other people are viewing in what you’re putting out,” he said. “That’s how you become a stronger person and a stronger leader.”
This year’s theme for National Hispanic Heritage Month—”Unidos Somos Más,” or “Together we are more”—resonates with him on both fronts. “It’s not just us as Hispanics, but us as Americans,” he said. “We may have different approaches on how to get there, but if the goal is the same, we can do a lot of great things.”
Martinez didn’t plan to leave music behind.
He thought he’d be a professional musician for life.
When that path shifted, he had to take stock of his skills and figure out where they could take him next.
His advice to Veterans navigating that same transition: have a plan, but stay open to doors you didn’t expect to open. “Veterans have an incredible experience, values and skills that really no one else brings to the table,” he said. “It may take two years, five years, 10 years, but keep your mind on it, keep looking forward, and keep going.”
He also points Veterans toward a benefit he believes doesn’t get talked about enough: the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill.
One of his sisters, a teacher, once wrote “education is the most important thing” inside a small paperback dictionary.
Martinez still carries it with him in every job he’s held since.
If he could go back to the start of his military journey, Martinez says he’d tell himself to slow down and take it in: the good, the bad and everything in between.
“I was so focused on the mission that I didn’t take pictures or write a journal,” he said. “Your time in the military is going to end, and you’re going to want to look back on it.”
“I’m committed to serve.”
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Center for Minority Veterans National Hispanic Heritage Month