18 Facts About Martin Dardis

Martin F Dardis was an American soldier, policeman, investigator and reporter.

Martin Dardis passed this information along to Washington Post reporter Carl Bernstein.

Martin Dardis lied about his age to enlist in the United States Army.

In 1988, bothered that the other half-track crew had been awarded Silver Stars while his had not, Martin Dardis began researching to build a case, forwarding his findings to the Military Awards Bureau and the Board to Correct Military Injustices.

Martin Dardis then became an investigator for Florida Attorney General Richard Ervin in the 1960s.

When Ervin's term ended in 1964, Martin Dardis went to work for Dade County state attorney Richard Gerstein.

That check had been written by a major Republican fundraiser: Kenneth H Dahlberg, the man Dardis had rescued in World War II.

When Washington Post reporter Carl Bernstein arrived at the state attorney's office, Martin Dardis passed along the information, which contributed to the Posts coverage of what became known as the Watergate scandal, which led to Nixon's resignation in disgrace in 1974.

Martin Dardis continued to uncover other major crimes, including a "$862,000 fraud at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in 1974" and "a $258,931 trifecta scam at Flagler Dog Track in 1977".

Threats persuaded Martin Dardis to relocate his family back to Endicott, New York, in 1979.

In 1981, Martin Dardis went to work for Sports Illustrated as an investigative reporter.

Martin Dardis was involved in major stories, including Don Reese's revelation of widespread cocaine use in the National Football League and Pete Rose's gambling.

Martin Dardis continued working for the sports magazine until about 2005.

Martin Dardis died of vascular disease in Palm City, Florida at the age of 83.

Martin Dardis was survived by his wife of 42 years, Barbara, their two children and four children by previous marriages.

Martin Dardis was buried in section 69 of Arlington National Cemetery.

Martin Dardis felt he was misrepresented in Woodward and Bernstein's book All the President's Men and the 1976 film adaptation.

Martin Dardis complained that actor Ned Beatty played him as a "buffoon".