On February 9, 2023, Carolyn Martin had the honor of attending Norwich University’s 2023 Harold “Doc” Martin Scholarship Benefit Dinner at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, along with three generations of her husband’s family. The event was held to raise funds for deserving citizen-soldier-scholars to follow in the footsteps of Doc Martin, exemplifying the motto of the first private military college in the United States, “I Will Try.”
The endowed scholarship is named after Major Martin, who entered Norwich in 1916 as the first African American cadet to attend the University. During his four years at Norwich he excelled in the classroom as an electrical engineering major, lettered in four sports, wrote for the college newspaper and performed in both the Mandolin and Glee Clubs. After graduating in 1920, he confronted discrimination when he arrived for his first day at Westinghouse Electric, where despite his impressive credentials, his job offer was rescinded when they realized that he was African American. Despite this setback, he went on to work at another electric firm while pitching for two Negro League baseball teams, earn a master’s degree at New York University and have a successful career as a college athletic coach and administrator. At the time of his premature death at the age of 45, Major Martin was Director of the Ground School at Tuskegee Army Airfield, where the famed Tuskegee Airmen pilots were being trained.
Click here to learn more about Doc Martin and the Scholarship and to make a donation if you are so inclined.