Proclamation_Birthday of Captain Robert L. Martin during Black History MonthCity of Dubuque
City Council Meeting
ITEM TITLE
SUMMARY:
SUGGESTED
DISPOSITION:
Copyrighted
February 20, 2023
P rociamation(s) # 01.
Birthday of Captain Robert L. Martin during Black History Month
(February 2023)
On behalf of the Captain Robert L. Martin Commemoration Committee
and the Dubuque Branch of the NAACP.
ATTACHMENTS:
Description Type
Birthday of Captain Robert L. Martin Supporting Documentation
THY CITY OF
Dub E
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
WHEREAS, Robert L. Martin was born in Dubuque on February 9, 1919, graduated from Dubuque
Senior High School and earned a degree from Iowa State University; and
WHEREAS, Robert Martin graduated from the Army Air Corps Tuskegee Flight Experiment and
received his wings as a Fighter Pilot, on January 7, 1944. He was assigned to the
100th Fighter Squadron, a part of the 332nd Fighter Group, assigned to the European
Theater Operations; and
WHEREAS, the elite Tuskegee Airmen were dedicated, determined young men who volunteered to
become America's first Black military airmen and broke racial barriers to become the
most respectable fighter group in a segregated military that previously never thought
Blacks could fly planes in defense of their country; and
WHEREAS, the Tuskegee Airmen were called Red Tails because of the crimson paint on the tails
of their P-51 Mustangs, and are renowned for their documented 1,578 successful
missions during which they maintained one of the lowest loss records of all the escort
fighter groups; and
WHEREAS, Robert Martin was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. Following WWII, Martin
continued to serve in the Reserves, earning the rank of Captain. Martin's legacy is to
be shared and remembered for generations to come with the naming of the Captain
Robert L. Martin Terminal at the Dubuque Regional Airport in his honor; and
WHEREAS, Dubuque Branch NAACP and the Captain Robert L. Martin Commemoration
Committee received the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Service Project Award from the Iowa
Department of Human Rights Commission on the Status of African Americans for their
effort to name the Dubuque Regional Airport terminal after Captain Martin.
NOW THEREFORE, I, BRAD M. CAVANAGH, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF DUBUQUE, IOWA, ON
BEHALF OF THE CITY COUNCIL, STAFF AND RESIDENTS OF DUBUQUE DO HEREBY
RECOGNIZE THE BIRTHDAY OF CAPTAIN ROBERT L. MARTIN DURING
BLACK HISTORY MONTH IN DUBUQUE, IOWA, AND CALL UPON THE RESIDENTS
OF DUBUQUE TO FURTHER AFFIRM THE RICH STORIES OF LOCAL HEROES.
IN WITNESS THEREOF, I have hereunto set
my hand and caused the Great Seal of the
City of Dubuque to be affixed this 20th day of
February 2023
Brad M. Cavanagh, Mayor
Attest:
Adrienne N. Breitfelder, CMC, City Clerk
2023: Submitted by the Captain Robert L. Martin Commemoration Committee and Dubuque Branch
NAACP To Be Accepted by: Anthony Allen & R.R.S. Stewart with copies going to the family of
Captain Robert L Martin and The Dubuque Regional Airport Commission.
2022: Submitted by the Captain Robert L. Martin Commemoration Committee and Dubuque Branch
NAACP To Be Accepted by: Dawnelle Gordon & R.R.S. Stewart with copies going to the family of
Captain Robert L Martin and The Dubuque Regional Airport Commission.
2021: Submitted by the Captain Robert L. Martin Commemoration Committee and Dubuque Branch
NAACP To Be Accepted by: Dawnelle Gordon & R.R.S. Stewart with copies going to the family of
Captain Robert L Martin and The Dubuque Regional Airport Commission.