POLO, S.D. – Two weeks after graduating from Southern State college with a associate of life science and electronic repair degree, Ray Martinmaas was drafted into the Army.
It was 1970 and while many of his classmates went to Vietnam, the Army had other plans for Martinmaas.
“I took airborne training and worked in explosives and defusing bombs,” Martinmaas said. “Our entire unit had college degrees – I think my electronics degree had something to do with it because there are a lot of electronics in high explosives.”
Because he served in Special Operations, Martinmaas cannot share much about the work he did during his time of service.
But the Veteran and fourth-generation cattle producer says growing up on a Polo farm, the oldest of 12, did prepare him for the work he did.
“Growing up on the farm, I learned how to figure things out and I had real good mechanic skills,” Martinmaas explained. “What I did in the Army was hands-on. We had to figure things out because no two situations were alike.”
Martinmaas sustained severe injuries during a mission and was honorably discharged in 1971. Although he said he learned a lot about order, discipline and follow-through during his time of service, he shared that perhaps the best life lessons he learned during his time of service was while he was undergoing rehabilitation in an Army hospital.
“Just about everyone on my ward, except me, was an amputee. The guy in the bed next to me was a young kid and he was only missing half his foot, but the guy in the bed next to him, Arnie had been on patrol, when the guy ahead of him stepped on a land mine, so Arnie lost both of his legs and one arm.”
“So, Arnie used to say, “I woke up this morning and I thought I was having a bad day, and then I turned my head, and I looked at Armando and I realized I was not having a bad day.”
Martinmaas explained that Armando was a helicopter door gunner. His spine was shattered when his helicopter was shot down. “He could not move anything. He had a concave mirror above his bed so he could see the TV above my bed. I was responsible for controlling the TV for him. I would turn his TV to the all-day soap opera channel.”
“I share this story because if you think you’re having a bad day, you’re not having a bad day.”
It took three months of rehabilitation before Martinmaas could return to South Dakota. Martinmaas utilized his Veteran’s educational benefits and in 1972, he enrolled in Southern State College and got a Bachelor of Science in Vocational and Technical Education and Electronic Technology.
Even though he sustained life-altering injuries, Martinmaas said his time of service strengthened his love of and respect for his country.
“When I was drafted, I knew I was fighting for my country and patriotism was forefront,” Martinmaas said. “You know you are fighting alongside your fellow soldiers – it is a community, and you depend upon each other.”
Martinmaas went on to teach high school vocational education classes, and if his students asked him about his time in the Army Martinmaas would encourage them to consider it.
“I encouraged them, telling them it will pay for college and it is an experience you will always have,” he explained. “I would see them years later and they would tell me they were glad I encouraged them to join the service.”
In 1987, Martinmaas returned to Polo and built up his own crop acres and cattle herd alongside his dad and brothers.
As he reflects on his time of service and the life he has lived since, Martinmaas said he makes time each Memorial and Veteran’s day to remember the Veterans he served with who are no longer here and to thank those who are.
