Celestino Martinez

     Celestino Martinez, age 92, beloved Husband, Father, Grandfather, Great-Grandfather, Brother and Uncle was called to his eternal resting place on May 18, 2018 in Grants, NM.      Celestino was born on September 26, 1925 in Seboyeta, NM to Secundino and Margarita Martinez.      His loving wife, Celia, his parents and siblings, Prudencio Martinez, Paulita Romero, Dora Garcia and Benito Martinez, preceded him in death.      He is survived by his beloved children, John Martinez, Margaret and Tony Griego, Tina Martinez and her partner Art Mendoza, Raul Martinez and his partner Mika Rascon, Ignacio Martinez and his sister, Feliz Garcia. Twelve grandchildren, seventeen great-grandchildren and numerous nephews and nieces also survive Celestino.      Throughout his entire life Celestino was the epitome of a hard worker. He started working on a farm in Bibo at the age of twelve to help his family, commenting his boss even gave him transportation, an old mare, and he was paid in beans. At age sixteen he jumped on a train to California looking for work and wound up working in the shipyards in San Francisco.      At the age of eighteen he was drafted and joined the Army. He was a 1st scout and a military policeman. Celestino was sent to Europe where he fought in the Northern France Campaign. He fought, endured, and survived the greatest land battle ever fought, the Battle of the Bulge. He was a member of the 424 Infantry regiment under the 106 Infantry Division, the majority of the Division was young draftees and they were called the Golden Lyons. It was the only regiment, out of three, that were not overrun and forced to surrender. He also fought in the Rhineland Campaign and Central Europe Campaign.             Celestino, like most World War II veterans, came home and never talked about his time overseas. Just two years ago while watching a documentary on the Battle of the Bulge he began to tell his da