Former Days of our Lives Star A Martinez Honors Father’s Service

Days of our Lives fans still miss Rafe and Gabi’s dad, Eduardo, played by beloved soap veteran A Martinez. On Sunday, which was the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, in which his father took part, the Daytime Emmy-winning actor honored his father’s service — the person he calls the great man in his life.

A Martinez Remembers

The handsome star who was also beloved as Cruz Castillo on Santa Barbara, Roy on General Hospital, Ray on One Life to Live, and Dr. Ramon Montgomery on The Bold and the Beautiful posted a passionate tribute to dad, pictured along with him and his siblings, on Instagram that will touch your heart.

“75 years ago today –– January 4, 1945 –– our father endured the most hellish day of his life in the Battle of the Bulge in Ardennes, Belgium. A Paratrooper in the 17th Airborne Division, Dad’s company was among several Allied outfits that had spent a long night before –– it was snowing –– listening to the conversations of the German soldiers they were going to fight in the morning.

“What they didn’t know was that the coming scene of battle –– in an open meadow of farmland –– had already been occupied by a German radio spotter, hidden in a haystack. Allied Sherman Tank fire from the ridge above the meadow commenced at 0800, to be followed by the Allies’ charge. But these tanks proved to be no match for the German Tiger Tanks that showed up across from them –– bigger guns and better armor –– and the Allies were immediately at a deficit as their cover fire was decimated,” he wrote.

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Horrifying Times

“Once they took the field, the soldiers were systematically savaged in the fight by the mortar fire of the enemy, called down upon them by the Hay Stack Spotter hidden in their midst. Against these tanks and artillery –– any new cover they established immediately attacked with an inexplicable accuracy –– they were severely overmatched, and their casualties were massive……”

After painting the realistic picture of what went down that fateful day, Martinez revealed a time when his father made a return to that very place — years later.

“In 2007, when my brother Mike took Dad back to Belgium to join his comrades for ceremonies honoring them for (in the words of their hosts) –– “saving us” — a certain healing came to pass…….”

The actor went on to share his thoughts about the war and current times, which you can see in its entirety in the post shared below. Days of our Lives (DOOL) airs weekdays on NBC. Check your local listings for airtimes.

75 years ago today –– January 4, 1945 –– our father endured the most hellish day of his life in the Battle of the Bulge in Ardennes, Belgium. A Paratrooper in the 17th Airborne Division, Dad’s company was among several Allied outfits that had spent a long night before –– it was snowing –– listening to the conversations of the German soldiers they were going to fight in the morning. What they didn’t know was that the coming scene of battle –– in an open meadow of farm land –– had already been occupied by a German radio spotter, hidden in a hay stack. Allied Sherman Tank fire from the ridge above the meadow commenced at 0800, to be followed by the Allies’ charge. But these tanks proved to be no match for the German Tiger Tanks that showed up across from them –– bigger guns and better armor –– and the Allies were immediately at a deficit as their cover fire was decimated. Once they took the field, the soldiers were systematically savaged in the fight by the mortar fire of the enemy, called down upon them by the Hay Stack Spotter hidden in their midst. Against these tanks and artillery –– any new cover they established immediately attacked with an inexplicable accuracy –– they were severely overmatched, and their casualties were massive…… In 2007, when my brother Mike took Dad back to Belgium to join his comrades for ceremonies honoring them for (in the words of their hosts) –– “saving us” — a certain healing came to pass……. This war should never have happened, of course –- and in fact, wouldn’t have happened had not so many American and British Bankers decided that the profits from helping Hitler build his War Machine were more important than the Awful Consequences. Whenever I hear it called “The Good War” –– Good vanquishing Evil –– I always remember those bankers. They had to build the monster up before they could profit from taking the monster down…… Clockwise from lower left, that’s Bill, Diane, Greg, Mike, Rick and me –– surrounding the greatest man in our lives.

A post shared by A Martinez (@abonemartinez) on Jan 5, 2020 at 3:42am PST