Martin enlisted on Nov. 13, 1942. He entered the 21st Seabees as Seaman 1st Class on March 8, 1943. He served in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska until December 4, 1943 when 21st. returned to Port Hueneme, then to Pearl Harbor. There they assembled pontoon barges and causeways for the invasion of the Western Pacific Islands. In February 1945 they moved to Saipan and after several months the 21st Naval Construction Battalion was sent toward Okinawa. On Route the LST #641 that Seaman Koch was transported on, came under fire from an enemy submarine. The 21st was transported on three separate LST's for that very reason. This was on April 21, 1945. The LST made it thru and arrived at Okinawa to help win that Island by July 1945. While in the Navy, Seaman Koch was awarded the Expert Marksman, Bronze Star, Victory Medal, and Asiatic-Pacific campaign ribbons. He was honorably discharge and mustered out with $100 on January 10, 1946.