STATUS:
Waiting
Martin "Marty" McGuirk attended The Citadel in Charleston, SC and was commissioned via ROTC into the US Navy in 1986; he then attended Surface Warfare Officer School. His first assignment was as a deck officer on the USS Harlan County going to the Mediterranean and to the Caribbean. From there, he reported to the USNS Neosho, a fleet oiler crewed primarily by civilian merchant marine crews where Martin served as the Navy Detachment Officer in Charge. While on the Neosho, they were dispatched as support of Operation Desert Shield and then on the USS Lake Champlain as part of Operation Desert Storm. Martin did a stint with Naval Sea Systems Command before heading back to sea as the at-sea director testing of an EMP simulator, then assigned to PMS-400, the Aegis ship program office.
After leaving the Navy, Martin went to Wisconsin to become the associate editor at a magazine called Model Railroader. He built scale models as a boy, and it is a hobby he still pursues today. In 2001, he moved to Colorado and worked in development for a company that manufactured scale model trains until he moved to the east coast to be nearer to family. Martin took a job in 2005 at Systems Planning and Analysis supporting many of the same Navy radar and sensor programs he supported at PMS-400 thirty years ago! Marty also volunteers with the non-profit American Corporate Partners as a mentor assisting service members as they transition from the military to civilian workforce. He enjoys staying in touch with those he has helped through this challenging time.
When not working, Martin enjoys playing golf with his wife Christine, and spending time with friends and family. He loves researching and writing about railroad history and spending time on his model railroading hobby. Martin suffers from chronic hypertension and a condition that causes his body to produce too much iron, both of which his doctors feel contributed to his kidney failure. Martin experiences fatigue and desires to receive a kidney transplant before he is forced to rely on dialysis!
He has enlisted the help of a Veteran's organization called DOVE Transplant which is helping in his outreach to find his life-saving kidney donor. DOVE will assist all prospective donors throughout the process and make sure they do not incur any out-of-pocket expenses related to the evaluation or surgery.
A healthy person can live a normal life with one kidney and save this Veteran's life! Please click on the link below if you would like to learn more OR call (551) 233-1611.
Martin McGuirk
Navy Veteran