Lt. Col. Louis J. Martin, USAF Ret.

Age 95 of Apple Valley, born June 8, 1928 in Ladysmith, WI to Francis & Margaret Martin, passed away peacefully at home February 4, 2024 of complications from Parkinson’s.

Lou Martin retired in 1970 from the USAF as a Lt. Col. after 22 years, logging 169 combat flight hours in the Vietnam War. After retiring, he flew as a captain for Japan Domestic Airlines for nearly five years, where he met his wife, Chieko, a senior flight attendant at the time.  He then flew as a charter pilot in Iran for three years and as an FAA pilot safety inspector for nineteen years.  He served as an Aviation Supervisor while attached to the United States Consular Office in Frankfurt, Germany for four years (which included several trips to Moscow after the collapse of the Soviet Union). Colonel Martin has written three books which have received five-star ratings from Amazon.com.  He holds a BS Degree from the University of Maryland, Air Transport Pilot Licenses from the United States, Japan and Iran and has accumulated 19,000 hours of pilot flight time in his sixty years as a pilot.  Lou obtained his pilot license at age 17, in 1945.  His book “Wings Over Persia” was selected as the best aviation book by the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame in 2004 and was awarded the Wright Brothers Master Pilot award by the FAA in 2013. In 2006 he wrote another book, an autobiographical account of his time as a pilot titled “Close Encounters with the Pilot’s Grim Reaper.”

Lou is preceded in death by his granddaughter, Jessica Martin and is the last of ten siblings: three sisters and six brothers.

He will be dearly missed by his loving wife of 42 years, Chieko; daughter, Lynn Graton; son, Mike Martin (fiancée, Cheryl Marion); grandson, Daithi Martin and many other nieces, nephews family and friends.

A visitation will be held 4-7 PM, Tuesday, February 13, 2024 at Henry W Anderson Mortuary; 14850 Garrett Ave. in Apple valley.  Funeral service, 11:00 AM, Wednesday, February 14, 2024 with a visitation one hour before, at the mortuary.  Martin will be laid to rest with honors at Ft. Snelling National Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to the Parkinson’s Foundation.