Martin Max Worobrow was a Russian Jew born in the Ukrainian town of Chernigov on the 6th February 1908. His birth name was Mottel Worebjow and, at the time of his birth, a series of antisemitic pogroms had erupted, organised mainly by members of the Union of the Russian People, commonly known as the “Black Hundreds”. By 1911 the antisemitic fervour of the period was characterized by a number of blood libel cases, which were accusations that Jews were murdering Christians for ritual purposes. If they were to provide themselves and their children with any chance in life his parents knew that they must leave the Ukraine as soon as they possibly could. They managed to make their way to Rotterdam where, on the 16th December 1911, they boarded the passenger ship “Ryndam”. An eleven day journey ensued which brought them to the shores of a new world on the 27th December, and the start of another life, this time on the bustling streets of Brooklyn. Mottel went on to become a Bacteriologist by profession and on the 22nd November 1934 married his first wife, Jeanne. The couple lived at 161 West 16th Street, in the heart of New York, and on the 25th April 1936 Mottel applied for U.S. naturalisation, which was not granted until 5th April 1937. At some point, it appears that the young couple divorced and on the 23rd July 1942 Martin married Louise Palmer in the County of Minniehaha, South Dakota. After joining the USAAF Martin became a Radio Operator serving with the 76th Squadron of the 435th Troop Carrier Group, part of the 9th USAAF. On the 19th September 1944 he was aboard a C-47A Dakota (42-24127) which was taking part in the Market Garden operation. The aircraft was towing a glider into the combat zone, piloted by Flight Officer Colston. The cloud ceiling was very low and when it was off of the Belgian coast the Dakota lost formation and had to make several attempts to locate its bearings. After a short while they manged to identify a small railway station and followed the railway lines towards Ghent, from where they picked up their original course. After maintaining the course for about ten minutes the aircraft came under heavy anti-aircraft, small arms and 20mm fire from the ground. The left engine and fuel tanks were hit and the entire undersection of the fuselage was aflame. Martin Worobrow, gave the alarm and the Pilot, Lieutenant John W. Hesketh, gave orders to bail out whilst he remained at the controls. The Co-Pilot, Lieutenant Charles M. Pollock, stated that as he left the aircraft he saw Lieutenant Hesketh stand and reach up with both hands to unfasten the escape hatch. At this point the Glider Pilot cut loose from the damaged Dakota and Lieutenant Pollock turned towards the rear door of the Dakota, unfastened his flak suit and adjusted his parachute as he jumped from the stricken aircraft without again looking back. The Radio Operator, Martin Worobrow, and Flight Engineer, Sergeant Nicholas Brooke Turner, had already jumped clear of the ship. Immediately the last chute left the aircraft, the aircraft rolled to the left and dove into the ground, exploding on contact. The stricken Dakota did not disintegrate but continued to blaze on the ground. An eye witnesses reported that the parachute of one Airmen, Martin Worobrow, had not opened. Lieutenant Hesketh did not manage to escape from the aircraft and his dog tags were found by civilians in the burned ashes of the wreckage. Both men were originally buried next to the aircraft. Lieutenant Pollock, Flight Officer Colston, and the four paratroopers from his Glider managed to escape capture and were aided by Belgian civilians. They were later able to make their way back to Allied lines where they eventually returned to their units. Today, Staff Sergeant Martin Max Worobrow and Lieutenant John W. Hesketh lay buried in the Ardennes American War Cemetery, Belgium. Martin Worobrow was awarded the Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster and the Purple Heart. Louise Worobrow remained a war widow until her death in 2007.rew of C-47A Dakota 42-24127 Pilot: Lieutenant John W. HESKETH – Killed In Action Co-Pilot: Lieutenant Charles M. POLLOCK - Evaded Radio Operator: Staff Sergeant Martin Max WOROBROW – Killed In Action Flight Engineer: Sergeant Nicholas Brooke TURNER – Prisoner Of War
Source: Remember them website.