Inventory of the Charlotte Ellen Martin papers
Finding aid prepared by Tess McCarthy
Hoover Institution Library and Archives
© 2013, 2014
434 Galvez Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003
hoover-library-archives@stanford.edu
Title: Charlotte Ellen Martin papers
Date (bulk): 1944-1945
Collection Number: 2014C6
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
3 manuscript boxes, 1 oversize folder
(1.4 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Memoirs, diary, correspondence, financial records, printed matter and photographs relating to the Japanese occupation of the
Philippines during World War II. Includes papers of Cecil John Martin, husband of Charlotte Martin, a port captain of Cebu
City and the owner and founder of the Cebu Stevedoring Company.
Creator:
Martin, Charlotte Ellen, 1904-
Creator:
Martin, Cecil John, 1889-
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Access
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual
or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
Use
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquisition Information
Materials were acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 2013.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Charlotte Ellen Martin papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Biographical Note
Charlotte Ellen Martin was born in Fennville River, Illinois, May 1904. At age six, she moved to the Cebu Island in the Philippines
where her father Bob worked as a businessman. Martin came back to the Philippines after high school and met Cecil John Martin
whom she later married. C. J. Martin was a businessman and master seaman who founded and owned The Cebu Stevedoring Company
where he navigated through the straits of Cebu and surrounding islands.
At the outbreak of World War II, Charlotte Martin signed up for duty first working for United States Army Forces in the Far
East (USAFFE) in the Office of the Surgeon Force. Then, she was heavily involved in the Red Cross and later, worked for the
Army's Office of Strategic Service, (O.S.S.) in Washington, D.C. providing U.S. Army forces with intelligence in the field
in order for OSS to help train anti-Japanese guerrilla movement in the Philippines--because she knew the culture and spoke
the language fluently. Evidence of her second language is demonstrated in letters to the presidents of The Philippine Commonwealth,
Sergio Osmeña, Jr. and Manual Acuña Roxas.
By 1942, The Japanese Imperial Army had occupied many strategic areas of the archipelago. Charlotte Martin went into hiding
on the advice of a military friend. Many Filipino, Spanish and Americans hid from Japanese Imperial Forces in fear of experiencing
the atrocities that were widely reported. Martin hid in the hills and mountains of Cebu, Leyte and Mindanao avoiding the
Japanese until November 1943 when she was rescued by submarine and taken to Australia ending her ordeal.
This experience became the basis of her book that she wanted published entitled "Two Jumps Ahead of the Japs" which was subsequently
censored and reviewed by the War Department and then rejected by major publishers because of the sensitive nature of the information
in the book. Nevertheless, Martin's story is a first person account of how she survived in hiding from enemy forces.
After World War II, Martin became friends with President Sergio Osmeña (born in Cebu City) and was invited to attend his daughter's
wedding in New York. When she came back to the Philippines from Washington, DC, she embedded herself into the threadwork
of Filipino life once again. Martin was a board member of the Women's Club, the Girl Scouts and the Cebu City Rotary Club.
Much later, C. John Martin sold The Cebu Stevedoring Company in October 1968.
In 1969, Cebu City adopted C. John Martin and Charlotte Ellen Martin as official "son" and "daughter" of their city as a gesture
of gratitude for helping the community during and after the Philippine invasion. When her husband passed away in 1971, Charlotte
sold their estate in Cebu. She remained a citizen of the United States enabling her to travel and to receive benefits she
rightfully deserved but at painstaking cost. As the sale of her husband's company closed, Ms. Martin moved to San Francisco,
California.
Scope and Conten of Collection
Personal files, including notes, photographs, manuscripts, writings, newspaper clippings, ephemera and copies of Charlotte
E. Martin's "Two Jumps Ahead of the Japs," pertain to Charlotte Ellen Martin's life on Cebu Island and surrounding regions
in the Philippines during World War II to late 1960s and her life back home in the United States.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
World War, 1939-1945 -- Philippines
Philippines -- History -- Japanese occupation, 1942-1945
Americans -- Philippines
Personal Files
1942-1988
Scope and Contents
The personal business files of Cecil John Martin (C.J. Martin) and Charlotte Martin regarding records and business transactions
of C.J. Martin's Cebu Stevedoring Company, disability claims, medical paperwork, exam reports under the War Claims Act of
1948. Records of war claim applications for under different acts of congress for Charlotte Martin include correspondence,
inventory, blue prints of their home and other legal documents. Includes printed materials, certificates, awards, clippings,
programs and ephemera.
box 1, folder 1
C.J. Martin files
1942-1968
box 1, folder 2
C.J. Martin files,
1944-1961
box 1, folder 3
C.J. Martin files,
1944-1962
box 1, folder 6
Printed materials,
1940-1969
box 1, folder 7
Rotary Club and other materials,
1947-1982
box 1, folder 8
City of Cebu, Adoption Ceremony materials,
1969
box 1, folder 9
"Glenda Crytser's 1941 Philippine Adventure,"
undated
Correspondence,
1942-1988
Scope and Contents
Letters and telegrams from her friends, family and agencies like the Red Cross, the United States, Office of Strategic Services
(OSS). Includes ephemera and correspondence with President (of the Commonwealth of the Philippines) Sergio Osmeña.
box 2, folder 6
C.J. Martin to Charlotte Martin,
1944-1945
box 2, folder 7
Grimm family correspondence regarding the Cebu Stevedoring Company,
1966-1977
box 2, folder 8
Grace Chenowyth and Kathryn Sharp
1944-1945
box 2, folder 11
Philippine Commonwealth President Sergio Osmeña Jr.
1944-1961
Writings and Related Materials
1941-1981
Scope and Contents
Martin wrote a draft and manuscript entitled, "Two jumps ahead of the Japs: A story of an American woman's experiences in
occupied territory," from about 1944 to 1945. Manuscripts of this text range up to 232 pages including word counts. "Two
Jumps Ahead of the Japs" is her first person account of her survival in enemy occupied territory in the Philippines during
World War II. Martin also tells of things she heard through military friends who help her hide. Includes correspondence
about the manuscript and the radio broadcast that took place on March 23, 1945 in San Francisco, California.
box 2, folder 1
Brief Chronology of the Philippine Campaign,
1941-1942
box 2, folder 2
"American Fugitives in the Philippines,"
1944 October
box 2, folder 3
Notebook,
1942 June - 1943 December
box 3, folder 1
"Two Jumps Ahead of the Japs: A Story of an American Woman's Experiences in Occupied Territory," original manuscript
circa 1944
box 3, folder 2
"Two Jumps Ahead of the Japs," edited
1944
box 3, folder 3
"Two Jumps Ahead of the Japs," War Department review copy
1945
box 3, folder 4
"Two Jumps Ahead of the Japs," typed manuscript,
circa 1981
box 3, folder 5
"Two Jumps Ahead of the Japs," correspondence
1944-1982
box 3, folder 6
"Two Jumps Ahead of the Japs," KYA Radio broadcast
1945
box 3, folder 7
Photographs
1942-1970
Scope and Contents
Pictorial works of Charlotte Martin's travels within Cebu City, Cebu, Philippine Islands and the United States along with
a color slide and photo of herself for the book, "Two Jumps Ahead of the Japs." Subjects include her husband, family, Philippine
presidential family members and United States military personnel. Pictorial works of General MacArthur, military photographer
Gae Faillace and Imelda Marcos.
