Candy Martin - Born to Serve

November/December 2025

Born to Serve

As a Texas Daughter, Army Veteran and Gold Star Mother, Candy Martin honors her journey by uplifting others through service.

By Lena Anthony

Military service is not just part of Candy Martin’s story—it’s a thread that runs through her family history. She grew up watching her father, a Veteran of World War II and the Korean War, spit-shine his boots before heading out for a drill weekend as a guardsman. Her mother sold savings bond stamps to her classmates.

“My family served in every war, starting with the Revolution,” said Mrs. Martin, who is from South Dakota. “I feel so lucky that I grew up in that type of environment—serving is what you do.”

When she turned 18, Mrs. Martin joined the Army Reserve, where she met her husband, Ed. Starting a family soon followed, and Mrs. Martin, still an Army reservist, was raising four children—Tom, Sarah, Laura and Becky—while Ed put on his combat boots and went to work every day.

“Then I got a crazy idea that I wanted to become a teacher,” Mrs. Martin said, adding that her four children were 6 months to 6 years old at the time.

She was halfway through her first year of teaching when she got the call: “The Army was critically short on my skill set, and they needed me on active duty,” she said. “I insisted on finishing out the school year.”

She would eventually serve a total of 38 years (11 reserve and 27 active duty) in the U.S. Army before retiring in 2013 with the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 5. She deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in 2005 to oversee a $7 billion book of property that included weapons, detection systems, vehicles and specialty equipment.

Six weeks after Mrs. Martin returned from deployment, her son, Tom, a first lieutenant, began his.

A recent West Point graduate, engaged to a fellow Army officer, he deployed to Iraq as a sniper-scout platoon leader. His yearlong tour was extended during the 2007 surge in Iraq. In what should have been the second-to-last mission of his extended deployment, Tom was fatally wounded when insurgents attacked his unit during combat operations.

“That was the moment we became a Gold Star Family,” Mrs. Martin said, referring to the designation given to the parents, spouses, siblings and children of service members killed in combat or while engaged in action against an enemy of the United States.

In the years since her son’s death, Mrs. Martin has channeled her grief into advocacy, becoming a champion for Gold Star Families, Veterans and active-duty military.

“I have always believed in service and volunteering, but I also believe that self-contained grief is self-destructive,” said Mrs. Martin, who previously received the President’s Volunteer Service Award for her work with the U.S. Army Women’s Museum, Wreaths Across America and other causes. “Finding something good to focus on helps turn that grief around.”

In 2010, Mrs. Martin and her family established the 1LT Tom Martin Memorial Foundation, dedicated to preserving the memory of her son by supporting the people, places and causes he cherished and respected. She later served as national president of American Gold Star Mothers.

She now volunteers as the Gold Star Family liaison at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, and most recently with Gold Star Families of Texas, a nonprofit that provides care, community and connection for Texas Gold Star Family members.

She is also a longtime volunteer at San Antonio-area Fisher Houses, which serve as a home away from home for families of Veterans and active-duty military receiving care at military or VA hospitals. (See the September/October 2025 issue of American Spirit for more about DAR’s work with Fisher House.) She is a member of the Honey Creek DAR Chapter near San Antonio and currently serves as the National Chair for the DAR Service for Veterans Committee.

For Mrs. Martin, it’s never difficult to say yes—whether it’s helping Veterans or speaking about her experience as a Gold Star Mother. “With every new commitment, my husband will ask, ‘Are you sure?’ I am. Making a difference is what matters.”

She serves others not only out of compassion but also to show her daughters the value of serving. “We are so proud to see them each carry on the spirit of service in their own way,” she said.

Laura lives with her family in Mauritania, where she works for the State Department, while Becky and Sarah are raising families and volunteering in their communities in Northwest Arkansas. Mrs. Martin’s family also includes Tom’s former fiancée, Erika, who is married and raising young children. “They call me Grandma Candy,” she said. “I have seen so many families that have been destroyed over the death of a loved one. In a way, ours has gotten bigger.”

Mrs. Martin doesn’t shy away from sharing her experience as a Gold Star Mother. For her, it’s less about the symbol itself and more about the life it represents.

“Behind every Gold Star pin is a child, sibling, parent or spouse whose story ended too soon,” she said. “Don’t be afraid to point to that star and say, ‘Tell me the story behind your star.’ That’s how their stories live on.”