Former Gang Member Becomes Iraq War Hero

DANA POINT, Nov. 12, 2007 (KABC-TV) (KABC) -- From gang member to Iraq War hero, and the first Latino Marine fighting in Iraq received the nation's second-highest award for bravery, the Navy Cross.

This former Marine has written a chronicle of his experiences.

This Veterans Day weekend we introduce you to a young man who did earn the nation's second-highest award for bravery, a man who once sat in a car with a gun on his lap, waiting to kill a rival gang member.

A few years later, Marco Martinez ignored intense enemy fire to save two fellow Marines from almost certain death.

Former Marine Corps Sergeant Marco Martinez has a dramatic take on what his life was like as a "gangbanger" in New Mexico before he joined the Marines: He believes he was one step from going over the edge.

"I was basically a leech on the side of America's body, sitting there, sucking blood out, not doing anything productive. Finally, when I joined the Marine Corps, I understood what it was to be an American," said Martinez.

You do not have to spend much time with Martinez to realize that is his core belief.

Martinez is one of the Marines who led the invasion into Iraq. At one point they were hit by intense enemy fire from a building. Martinez's squad leader was wounded and another Marine hit badly.

Martinez found an enemy RPG and fired it into the house. Then he rushed the house, single-handedly taking out everyone inside with a grenade and a rifle.

"Our first casualty ended up losing about a liter of blood within about a 35-minute time frame," said Martinez. "And the second wounded Marine was paralyzed from the waist down and bleeding out pretty good, too, so if I hadn't have done what I did, both those Marines would probably be dead right now."

Martinez has written a book he calls "Hard Corps," about his experience that led to the awarding of the Navy Cross. It lives up to its title.

What you hear from Martinez is a sincere expression of the way he feels. He believes in the war in Iraq and he was ready for the ultimate sacrifice.

"I really thought I was going to die, and I was at peace with that, because I had done so many things beforehand, where I might have died over misinterpreted glances, colors, girls," said Martinez.

These days he is a community college student studying business and working as a nuclear plant security guard. Fellow students don't know about his heroism. He is uncomfortable with the adulation he's received, as the first Hispanic and first Marine in Iraq to be awarded the Navy Cross.

"I kind of felt that since we were all in it together, why am I the only one receiving this award? I kind of felt the award was for everybody," said Martinez. "I really felt that I was just doing my job. And all the accolades I was receiving were unnecessary, anyone else in my squad or my platoon would have done the same. If I hadn't done it, someone else would have done it."

Perhaps. Martinez is living in Dana Point as he works and studies toward a business degree. Despite his humility, the Navy Cross is something that's awarded to only a relatively few people. And as a Marine colonel told me, you don't "win" the nation's second-highest military honor; you earn it.

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