Don Martin

Don Martin, a veteran of the US Army and retired Kingman, Arizona Police Officer, was a witness of the 1973 BLEVE, or "DOXOL Explosion" which took the lives of 12 brave men and gravely injured countless others, including residents, commuters, firefighters and policemen. Don refers to July 5th, 1973 as, "A Day He Will Never Forget," and maintains that it was the most horrific event he’d ever experienced despite his service in the U.S. Army from 1969-1972 as a military policeman and investigator. Martin witnessed or investigated a number of deadly incidents including traffic accidents, homicides and even a helicopter crash with multiple fatalities during his service.

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Don shares his true-account of July 5th 1973, as an on-duty police officer in the small town of Kingman, Arizona in order to, not only educate people who may not have heard of this tragedy, but to keep the memories alive of those who suffered and perished serving their beloved community.

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Don is proud to live and has served the Kingman community in many capacities. Besides being a police officer, detective and sergeant for the KPD, Don has been the outdoors writer for the Kingman Miner—formerly the Kingman Daily Miner—for over 25 years.

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Don also teaches Arizona Hunter Education for the Arizona Game & Fish Department as a chief instructor and has been a volunteer for the AZGFD for over 23 years.

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In 2013, Don was inducted into the Wildlife For Tomorrow’s “Arizona Outdoor Hall of
Fame.”