Martin Joseph “Marty” Higgins was born on January 29, 1916, in New Jersey. He was the husband of Marjorie Jewkes Higgins. He graduated with a BA in Economics from St. Peter's College in 1939. He joined the New York National Guard and rose from Private to Sergeant before becoming a 2nd Lieutenant in December 1942. Assigned to the “Buffalo Soldiers” (10th Cavalry), he later served in the 36th Infantry Division as a Captain during World War II, participating in the invasion of Southern France.

Higgins led Company A, 141st Infantry in the famous “Lost Battalion” episode in the Vosges Mountains, where he was elected acting battalion commander by his fellow company commanders. He was captured during a German counterattack in late 1944 and was initially imprisoned at Oflag 64, also known as Stalag XXI-B in Schubin, Poland, before being moved to Usedom during his captivity. He was later interrogated by SS leader Heinrich Himmler. After surviving a 375-mile Winter Death March and imprisonment, he escaped on April 22, 1945, and was discharged later that year.

Following the war, Higgins worked in sales for 37 years, earned a Master’s degree, and advocated for Japanese-American veterans' families. Higgins remained civically active and died on February 26, 2007. He is now buried in the Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, USA.

Source of information: www.texasmilitaryforcesmuseum.org