This Date in History: May 3

On May 3, 1945, Generalmajor Emmo von Roden, the commander of the 286th Security Division (286. Sicherungs-Division), was killed southwest of Berlin, possibly near Potsdam.  (Quiet Flows the Rhine, German General Officer Casualties in World War II.)  Later information shows that von Roden was briefly captured by the Russians and executed after he tried to escape, a fate that occurred frequently at the end of the war.

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Vincent Joseph Martino served as assistant to hangman John C. Woods in Europe.  Born in Brooklyn, New York on April 17, 1924, the son of Joseph Martino and Theresa Macri, Vincent served as a stock clerk after three years of high school.  Martino was a stocky 5’6” tall and weighed 195 pounds.  He enlisted on March 1, 1943 in New York City, Army Service Number 32819220, and arrived overseas on February 13, 1944 at the 2913th DTC as a military policeman.  He had a military occupational specialty of 564 – Hangman.  Vincent was married to Sylvia L. Martino, who was born on September 16, 1922.  He departed Germany on April 21, 1946 and was discharged on May 3, 1946 at Fort Dix, New Jersey, receiving the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, Good Conduct Medal and World War II Victory Medal.  Martino and his wife lived in the Bronx in the 1970s, residing at 2549 Wilson Avenue; later the couple moved to 4765 Aston Gardens Way in Naples, Florida.  (American Hangman: MSgt. John C. Woods, The United States Army’s Notorious Executioner in World War II and Nurnberg)