MARTINO, Anthony "Tony"

Born April 5, 1929 to Vincenzo and Guiseppa Martino in Bridgewater, MA. Survivors include his wife of 46 years, Zona Martino; sons: Paul (Alisha) Martino, Russel Martino all of Las Vegas, NV, William Hanley of Honolulu, HI; daughter, Dayle (Mike) Purinton of Houston, TX; brothers: John and Charles (Anne) Martino all of Massachusetts; sister, Mary (Livio) Proia of Providence, RI; six grandchildren; 10 great -grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and one sister.

Tony graduated from Bridgewater HS in 1947. After working in the family business he entered the Air Force in 1951 and retired in 1977 after a distinguished career. During this period he earned the Air Medal, Meritorious Service Medal w/1 OLC, AF Commendation Medals w/3 OLC, Army and Air Force Good Conduct Medals, and Vietnam Service Medal among others. From 1951 to 1953 he was assigned to Military Police and then volunteered for Survival Training where he performed duty as a squad leader, NCOIC, and First Sergeant. 1957 to 1958 he was stationed in Okinawa at the Jungle Survival School. 1958 to 1964 he was a paramedic and later the NCOIC of the Life Support School assigned to Air Rescue at Hamilton AFB, CA. In this position he constructed the first parachute training jump tower and wind machine, personnel lowering device tower, and initiated with the first parasail to be utilized by the Air Force. After two years of experimentation, this program was approved and adopted by the Air Force to be utilized by all Air Force crew members. 1964 to 1970 he was assigned as Superintendent ADC Command Life Support School, Perrin AFB, TX. He was directly responsible for the construction of seven facilities, responsible for all support functions including parasail operations. 1970 to 1972, Superintendent of the Jungle Survival School, Philippines. 1972 to 1977, NCOIC of Operations Branch, Survival School, Fairchild AFB, WA, and January to September 1977 was responsible to the commander 3636 Combat Crew Training Wing for management and coordination of various survival training schools. 1977 to 1978 he worked for Spokane Community College teaching basic survival courses. 1978 to 1988 he was the manager of the Royal Saudi Air Force Training Center at Dhahran SA, where he was employed by Northrop Corporation. 1988 Anthony Martino retired and enjoyed outdoor activities including gardening and boating.