Veteran Spotlight: Army Lt. Col. Joseph Martellaro

FALMOUTH, Mass. — Joseph Martellaro served his country for a total of 34 years in the Army, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. 

 

Growing up in Auburn, N.Y., he would do his basic training at Fort Dix, N.J. Music would be the center of his military service as he would perform as a trumpet player with the West Point Band and the 26th Army Band at Fort Hamilton, and band commander of the 552nd Air Force Band at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, N.Y., and of the 199th Army Band at Camp Smith in Peekskill, N.Y.

 

He would also serve as branch chief at the New York State Army National Guard Headquarters in Latham, N.Y. 

 

"I played for the ticker tape parade when the hostages came home, which was quite a thrill ... I also played British Bugle Calls at the Waldorf Astoria in New York. I go out on the balcony and play, then came back in and asked who I was playing for? A guy says, 'That was for the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher," he laughingly recalled.

 

How were the holidays?

 

"The toughest when I was deployed in Iraq," he said. "I missed not only holidays but graduations, birthdays, anniversaries and special events with my kids." 

 

Martellaro would deploy to Camp Bucca, the military detention facility in Iraq, in 2007-2008. 

 

"I was with the Army National Guard's 104th MP Battalion out of Kingston, N.Y. It was a detention center and we were in charge of security inside and out," he said. "We had about 25,000 detainees. I was the S1 and we were accountable for everything and would track everyone. We had about 6-7,000 people that worked at the FOB [Forward Operating Base].

 

"We would get rocketed by the Taliban on a frequent basis. They always went for the dining hall, because that's where most of our people were." 

 

Mentors? "MG Paul Weaver. I knew him when he was the base commander at Stewart ANG Base. He eventually ended up as a commander at the National Guard Bureau in Washington, D.C."

 

Thoughts on being a U.S veteran?

 

"I retired from teaching music in 2014, however, I draw more upon my service in the military than my years in

music education," he said. "I was proud to have served my country, especially with the members of the 104th MP Battalion in Iraq. As a veteran, I am a member of a very small group of people that deployed into a combat zone, so we have an entirely different perspective on life."

 

Lt. Col. Joe Martellaro, thank you for your service to our great country.