The Cindy Martin Story

An explosion left her broken, bloodied, and missing a leg. This devastating violence happened to a young girl who had spent her whole life up to that point overcoming heartbreak and adversity. Neglect, abandonment, and abuse overshadowed the childhood of Cindy Martin. But after joining the Air Force to escape her hardships, she could never have guessed that her new journey was leading her right into the middle of a terrorist attack that would shatter her life and change her future. Cindy had been forged by tough breaks all her life, and with the lessons she learned along the way, she was a natural survivor.

Cindy learned the necessity of diligent, hard work at a young age. She never enjoyed an ideal childhood with a supportive mother and father to guide her through life’s challenges and keep her safe from harm. In fact, Cindy was only three years old when she started caring for her younger sister. By first grade she was ironing clothes and helping around the house. But in addition, it fell upon her to get her brother and sister ready for school. And before she could do that, she had to feed her neighbor’s animals. The reason she took on the extra roles of mother and provider in grade school is that her mother and father were heavy drinkers. As a result, her mother slept in. Not only that, her father was often out of town on work.

Depression followed her and threatened to destroy her life, but Cindy learned to overcome her depression. She had a horse, so to get a rest from her burdens she often took long rides into the wilderness areas near her home. She would lie under the fruit trees and look at the clouds. She would cry in the foothills and orchards of Loomis, California. She took hikes with her dog. Years earlier, some childhood friends took her to summer Vacation Bible School. Now, as she rode in the hills and walked orchards with her dog, she found God in nature.

Danger of abuse and the threats of victimization taught Cindy to reach out for help. With an absent father, some saw it as an opportunity to take advantage of her. It began when a neighbor boy abused her and used threats to keep her quiet. Things got even worse when a creep approached her in the 7^th grade and tried to abduct her. She ran, and running probably saved her life. She called the police, but got no response. Then at school she was called to the principal’s office. The police were there and wanted to know what had happened. When her parents were mentioned, Cindy said she wasn’t going to get any help from her parents. Later, a man who knew her family tried to groom her to be a mistress. At first, Cindy was frozen in fear. Then she confronted him, and he backed off. Taking action and reaching out to others was proving essential, but that’s not all.

Around this time, the lessons of prayer touched her life. Cindy’s grandmother in Michigan often prayed for her. On a visit to her grandmother’s, she went to church. Seeds were planted that would be crucial to her later on when tragedy struck. And tragedy was going to strike very soon.

In high school, Cindy learned about herself and her place in the world—aside from her home life. She was blessed to have teachers that encouraged her because she was super shy. One of them told her, “Be more outgoing. You have a lot going for you. You need to get out and enjoy school.” Kind words like this gave her confidence that she desperately needed.

As a young lady, she also learned new kinds of responsibility. During high school, someone had to pick her mother up at the bar close to midnight, and Cindy was always there for her mother, who was fighting her own personal battles. However, it was not easy to shoulder this burden and also be up early for her other responsibilities and getting to school on time. After high school, she got a chance to work on a ranch in Oregon. She cooked pies and pot roast for the workers during harvest. She took her responsibilities seriously and always did her best. She was treated like part of the family, and she cared for the farmer’s kids. She taught them responsibility, making them clean their room. She was always very strict with the kids. When she came home past curfew one night, the farmer and his wife were not happy that she had misled them. For the first time outside of school, Cindy saw that there were grown-ups who cared about her and worried about her. From then on, she took her responsibility in communication to others seriously.

 Just as she was starting to find her way in life, she took a detour that would teach her new lessons that would carry her through extreme personal trials.

One day, her friend Patsy said, “Let’s join the military.” Cindy thought it was a good idea, but when the day came, Patsy backed out. Cindy, however, followed through. She joined the Air Force in May 1978. She was smart and did well in the military. She thrived in electronics at her airbase in Germany. She was the first woman in the microwave communication shop, dealing with communication from microwave towers. She went to fiber optics school and often worked all night installing fiber optics systems in the microwave shop. This was agreeable because she had married a violent alcoholic, thinking she could fix him. That didn’t work out, and her problems were just beginning.

In 1980, ten soldiers, including Cindy, went to Oktoberfest. There were thousands of people from all over the world, many flocking to cement buildings full of beer drinkers. On the third night, Cindy and four others were walking into the festival grounds. Outside, the atmosphere was much like a state fair in America. People were drinking, eating, and singing.

 

Cindy was about to learn to persevere through extreme pain and adversity. Also at Oktoberfest was a fascist extremist who wanted to kill innocents for political reasons on September 26, 1980. He was rigging explosives when the bomb went off prematurely. The terrorist’s body landed on a taxi. Over two hundred were injured. Thirteen were killed. The surprised taxi driver hurried over and put a tourniquet on Cindy’s severely bleeding leg, probably saving her life. Cindy landed in hospital with shrapnel in her back. Part of her nose was blown off. She was partially paralyzed. She had major shoulder injuries. She had a head injury, a major concussion. Most of her right foot was gone. And she lost a leg. She had no pain in her left side due to the shrapnel wound in her back; however, her right side was in constant pain for two years. She had major skin grafts on her back. Specialists built her prosthetic legs. She spent the next nine months in the hospital. Through it all, she persevered, always remembering the kind words of her high school teachers, the love of the people in her squadron, and the love of the ranch family.

Along with perseverance, she learned to have a sense of humor. Being a 23 year old girl in the hospital for nine months and having to use a bed pan and being assisted by young men was humiliating at first. Finally, she learned to laugh and not take herself too seriously. Also, the man who built her leg was a Vietnam vet, an amputee, who was a crazy-fun guy. In a way, he set the tone and helped her to have a sense of humor in the midst of her circumstances.

Along with her sense of humor, she learned to never feel sorry for herself. She would always read about someone who had it worse off than her. Therefore, she looked at the positive. She always remembered something her father had told her: “Only wimps whine.” It also became clear to her that complaining never did her any good. But even more important, all the ups and downs showed her a pattern with adversity—a pattern that could bring hope into darkness.

She learned that problems are temporary. She says, “So many people end their lives too quickly when they think they have problems. Everyone is so valuable. Everyone can do good for someone else. If I can convince others to believe that then evil doesn’t win.”

But there was another lesson that gave Cindy strength. After all she suffered due to the terror attack, after persevering through the pain, trauma, and heart break, she now felt there was nothing she couldn’t do.

Cindy went on to live a full life and overcome obstacles every single day with a great attitude. After raising a family and after her husband passed away, she went back to college at age sixty.

Just walking across the stage to get her degree was a challenge, but it was also another great victory in the school of life.

Check out Cindy's inspirational story on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPYTK8S6THM