Greg Martin was born in Vinita, OK, but the family soon moved to Tulsa, and Greg eventually graduated from Edison High School. Greg recounts the day a Marine recruiter visited the school. Everything about the recruiter appealed to Greg; his appearance, apparel, demeanor, and especially the confidence and command he exuded when speaking.
At 17 years of age, Greg had to convince his mother to sign the enlistment papers. She did not think him mature enough for the Marines. Greg’s response was that the Marines were, as he thought of them, a guaranteed way to mature quickly as a young man and to benefit from an organization that would support the success he needed to experience.
It was not long before his first visit home after basic training and initial schooling. He was now in excellent shape. He was “cut.” He remembers his mother seeing him and exclaiming, “What have they done to you?!” Before she could say anything else, Greg said to his mother that he apologized for all the backtalk and “lip” he had given her and promised that would never happen again. She retorted that, “if that was what they were going to do to her son, then she supported him staying in as long as he wanted.”
Greg now serves on the Bunker’s Veterans Service Council and is a consistent voice of peer support at the Bunker’s Connection Table. Veterans who are needing some peer support can count on Greg being there for them.