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Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow!
The Patton’s Lucky Scout Blog Team

Here are several more photos taken by PFC Frank Wayne Martin, working backstage during the famous performance given for General George S. Patton and members of his staff in May, 1945.

Head shot of one of the Lipizzan horses, May 1945, ready to perform for General Patton, at St. Martin's, Austria

Note the staff cars lined up in the background in the next photo, as one of the riders moves forward on the left, hidden the shadowed canopy of trees.

Lipizzan horse and rider, backstage, with Third Army staff cars in background, May 1945, at St. Martin's, Austria

Here’s a good shot of one of the riders entering or returning from the performance area:

Mounted rider at a trot on a Lipizzan horse, backstage, May 1945, ready to perform for General Patton, at St. Martin's, Austria

All these shots were taken backstage, where PFC Martin was keeping an eye on the riders to make sure they were safe and no problems occurred to mar this historic performance for General Patton and others, after their efforts to save the Lippizan horses at the end of World War II from any danger.

The story of PFC Martin’s role in the event is found in the book:

Patton’s Lucky Scout
The Adventures of a Forward Observer
for General Patton and the Third Army in Europe
by Frank Wayne Martin, with Nancy Martin
Crickhollow Books, October 2009
(a World War II memoir)
paperback, 308 pages, $18.95 (click on the title above to order)

But the book does not contain any photos; instead, we are placing them on this blog, in batches. More to come soon!

Lipizzan horses backstage, May 1945, ready to perform for General Patton, at St. Martin's, Austria.

From the book, Patton’s Lucky Scout, by Frank Wayne Martin with Nancy Martin:

Lucky Forward had penetrated deep into Czechoslovakia by this time in the war. We were staying in a lovely little whitewashed house in a beautiful village. I was actually sleeping under a roof when this mission began. Very early one morning I woke up to a driver looking for me, shouting “Hey, Martin, the General wants to know if you can saddle and ride a horse?”

So begins a chapter about PFC Martin’s involvement in the operation to save the famous performing Lipizzan horses of Austria.

For the rest of the story, see the Patton’s Lucky Scout book, now available in paperback for $18.95, from fine bookstores online and in your neighborhood. (If you don’t see it on the shelves, ask for it; good bookstores will special-order a title for you.)

PFC Martin took a number of “backstage” photographs of the horses and riders coming and going. His role: to guard and protect the handlers.

The trainers were still technically prisoners of war, so my job was to guard them during the performance. Also, military protocol required that nobody else would be allowed to enter the holding area or mingle with the trainers.

Lipizzan horses backstage, May 1945, ready to perform for General Patton, at St. Martin's, Austria.

(More photos to follow in next post.)

Four GIs in the Battle of the Bulge (Chester "Spud" Spudowski with "grease gun" and Sgt. John Archibald (Archie) Skuse in the middle, two unnamed soldiers on far right and left.

PFC Frank Wayne Martin’s group had been due for R&R, but instead was called into action in the Battle of the Bulge, a drawn-out affair that lasted from mid-December 1944 into January 1945, with stretches of bitter cold weather, with lows of -40 . . . or colder.

According to satirist Oscar Wilde:

I dislike modern memoirs. They are generally written by people who have either entirely lost their memories, or have never done anything worth remembering.
– Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)

Patton’s Lucky Scout avoids those traps. It is quite the opposite, a World War II memoir by an intelligent, trained observer (who also happens to be a great storyteller), and who did a lot of things worth remembering and sharing. Although it happens in the heart of war, as Patton’s Third Army marches across Europe, the account is quite upbeat and positive, reflecting the author’s deep compassion, his sense of humor, and an unflagging commitment to remembering what we share and value most as human beings, even in the midst of conflict.

From the Preface (by Nancy Martin) to Patton’s Lucky Scout, by Frank Wayne Martin (with Nancy, his daughter-in-law who helped compile and edit the book):

If I heard it once, I heard it a hundreds of times: “He should write a book!” about his time with Patton. Often there was an additional comment, [such as] “My uncle was in the Third Army but I don’t know what he did.”

This book is written is written in part for all of those who wonder what their loved ones experienced. While Frank Wayne Martin’s role was atypical, a lot of his experiences were universal.

The stories in this book are based upon his memories: the recollections of PFC Frank Wayne Martin, who served in the 328th regiment of the 26th Yankee Division in the Third Army during World War II. He kept no journal and has no written notes from his time in the Army, but does have photographs he took [note: some of which we'll be sharing here on this blog].

The story episodes were written over a period of several decades, with the compilation being done over the past four years. Every attempt has been made to verify his stories, but due the nature of his work that is largely impossible.

Memoirs are not solely documentary history, but also story. The events are seen and interpreted through one person’s point of view. Indeed, while they bring a lot of valuable, boots-on-the-ground perspective to military history, or any type of history, they mostly bring insight into the invisible realm of values . . . what individuals felt was most important to remember and honor and share through their stories.

While this may not create a documentary, impartial account . . . it is all the more interesting and valuable because of that.

As famous author Tobias Wolff wrote in his preface to This Boy’s Life:

I have been corrected on some points . . . . Also, my mother thinks that a dog I described as ugly was actually quite handsome. I’ve allowed some of these points to stand, because this is a book of memory, and memory has its own story to tell.

We hope you enjoy reading Patton’s Lucky Scout, and that it will help others recall and share their stories of things that matter most.

PFC Frank Wayne Martin on motorcycle

Here is a photo of PFC Martin on a motorcycle. Somewhere in Europe, date 1944 or 1945.

Frank Wayne Martin is the author of Patton’s Lucky Scout: The Adventures of a Forward Observer for General Patton and the Third Army in Europe (Crickhollow Books, Oct. 2009), a World War II memoir.

Welcome! This blog (with photos and some additional stories) accompanies the book:

Patton’s Lucky Scout
The Adventures of a Forward Observer
for General Patton and the Third Army in Europe
by Frank Wayne Martin
with Nancy Martin
Crickhollow Books, October 2009
paperback, 308 pages, $18.95

This is a fascinating, often humorous memoir of World War II by a remarkable soldier, a scout working behind enemy lines for General George S. Patton’s famed Third Army on the move.

The stories are the memoirs of PFC Frank Wayne Martin, who served in the 328th regiment of the 26th Yankee Division in the Third Army during World War II.

The co-author, Nancy Martin, compiled the stories into a cohesive narrative, working closely with her father-in-law.

The book is due to arrive from the printer about October 15 and will be available from bookstores, online and around the corner.

More soon!