Private First Class Martinez was a rifleman with Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regimental Combat Team. He was Killed in Action while fighting the enemy near DT200395, North Korea on 15 January 1953.

Martinez was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.