C. F. Martin Employees Design Verterans' Guitar
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January 17, 2002
C. F. Martin employees not only love making Martin guitars and strings but also are devoted to their country and to the men and women in the United States Armed Forces who have unselfishly defended it. To honor these heroic men and women, a group of Martin employees, consisting of both military veterans and non-veterans, was formed on February 14, 2000 to design an instrument dedicated to all American veterans -- the DVM Dreadnought Veterans' Special Edition Model.
This 14-fret Martin Dreadnought features premium quality bookmatched Sitka spruce for the top with Martin's hybrid A-frame scalloped X-bracing, and solid East Indian rosewood for the back and sides. A style 45 mosaic backstrip bordered with black fiber joins the two-piece back while an elegant top inlay consisting of bold pattern herringbone is combined with black and white side and back inlay.
The DVM low-profile neck is comprised of genuine mahogany with a 1 11/16" neck width at the nut. Neck appointments include a black Corian nut matched by a black Micarta saddle and a black ebony belly bridge with abalone inlaid black bridge and pins. Beautiful gold-plated open gear tuners with butterbean knobs are also included.
The distinguishing characteristics of the DVM are present on the solid Martin headstock with diamond volute and the fingerboard. The emblems of the Department of the Army, the U. S. Marine Corps, the U. S. Navy, the U. S. Air Force, and the U. S. Coast Guard are gracefully displayed below the gold foil "C. F. Martin & Co." logo on the black ebony headplate. A representative of the C. F. Martin Veterans' guitar group, in conjunction with a representative from the office of U. S. Congressman Patrick Toomey from Pennsylvania's 15th District, engaged in a lengthy approval process to use these emblems. The Veterans theme is further exemplified in the black ebony fingerboard with mother of pearl inlays of an eagle at the 3rd fret, V E T E R A N S from the 5th to 12th frets, small five pointed stars at the 15th and 17th frets, and the National Defense Service ribbon in dyed woods between the 19th and 20th frets. The National Defense Service medal and ribbon were awarded for honorable active service for any period between June 27, 1950 and July 27, 1954, between January 1, 1961 and August 14, 1974, and between August 2, 1990 and November 30, 1995.
Additional appointments of the DVM include a style 45 soundhole rosette featuring brilliant blue paua shell inlay. The aging toner tinted top is protected by a black polished and beveled pickguard, and the entire body is beautifully finished in polished gloss lacquer.
Delivered in a hard shell case with black hardware, each Martin DVM Veterans Special Edition bears an interior label signed by Martin Chairman and CEO C. F. Martin IV and numbered in sequence. In addition, a set of two genuine steel dog tags, similar to those issued to armed forces personnel, will accompany each guitar. The dog tags will be individually engraved as follows:
C. F. MARTIN & CO.
AMERICAN VETERAN
DVM
SPECIAL EDITION
SERIAL #_ _ _ _ _ _
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each DVM guitar will be donated to a disabled veterans' organization that wishes to remain anonymous.
Orders for the DVM Veterans Special Edition are being accepted immediately, though the guitars will not begin to appear in stores until the summer of 2002.
For more information, visit their web site at www.martinguitar.com. | 
