Rounds Honors First Lieutenant Thomas Michael Martin at Post Office Renaming Ceremony in Huron

HURON – U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) spoke at a ceremony to dedicate the United States Postal Service (USPS) office in Huron as the First Lieutenant Thomas Michael Martin Post Office Building. This renaming follows legislation introduced by Rounds in November 2023 and signed into law in November 2024. 

Originally from Huron, 1LT Martin was a 5th generation Beadle County Martin whose great-great-grandfather homesteaded northeast of Huron in the 1880s. 1LT Martin was born in Huron and later moved around the country due to his parents’ active duty service that moved the family out of South Dakota. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1998 and would go on to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point. 1LT Martin died during combat operations on October 14, 2007 while serving his country in Iraq.

“As of this week, Huron’s USPS office is officially named the ‘First Lieutenant Thomas Michael Martin Post Office Building’ to honor one of South Dakota’s heroes,” said Rounds. “I was honored to introduce and pass this legislation in honor of 1LT Martin and his family. His legacy will live on, and this post office will stand as a reminder of the true price of freedom. Thank you to everyone who came out to Huron to honor 1LT Martin, especially his Gold Star parents, Candy and Ed.”

“A person dies twice. The first time their last breath is taken and the second time their name is spoken for the last time,” said Ed Martin, 1LT Martin’s father. “It’s comforting to know that our Tom’s name will often be spoken in the city he first called home. He will never be forgotten.”

1LT Martin’s parents Ed and Candy Martin traveled from San Antonio, Texas to attend the renaming ceremony. Rounds and Ed Martin made keynote remarks. The ceremony also featured a Presentation of Colors from the South Dakota National Guard’s 153rd Engineering Battalion, the Pledge of Allegiance led by the Huron Boy Scouts Troop 222, the Star-Spangled Banner led by retired Postmaster Val Langbehn, an Invocation from Russ Dramstad, Huron VFW Post 1776 and a welcome from Huron Mayor Mark Robish.

Download photos from the event HERE. If publishing, please credit “Office of Senator Mike Rounds.”

BACKGROUND (Courtesy of the 1LT Tom Martin Memorial Foundation):

1LT Martin was born October 10, 1980, in Huron, South Dakota. He left South Dakota as a very young boy, went to school for a short time in San Marcos, Texas and then graduated from high school in Cabot, Arkansas in 1998. That same year, he enlisted in the United States Army completing Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training as a Field Artilleryman at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. In 2000, after an assignment to Camp Stanley in Korea, 1LT Martin was accepted for admission to the United States Military Academy. After attending the United States Military Preparatory School, he entered West Point in the fall of 2001. As a West Point Cadet, 1LT Martin started on the Rugby team, was a member of the Military Tactics Team and earned his Parachutist Badge by graduating from Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia. He majored in Military Science and graduated with his class in May 2005. 1LT Martin was commissioned as an Armor Officer and completed the Armor Officer Basic Course at Fort Knox, Kentucky.

1LT Martin volunteered for Ranger School and graduated earning his Ranger tab in May 2006. He reported to the 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Richardson, Alaska in June 2006. Upon arrival, he was assigned as the Sniper Platoon Leader in Crusader Troop and deployed with the unit in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in October 2006.

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