Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Just in time for Veteran's Day 2009, a Milwaukee veteran of World War II has published his military recollections in a new book called Patton's Lucky Scout: The Adventures of a Forward Observer for General Patton and the Third Army in Europe.
Published by Crickhollow Books (http://www.crickhollowbooks.com), the amazing stories in this book 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.
As part of a group of advance observers, PFC Martin's task was to scout routes and German positions, often at considerable risk and ranging far behind enemy lines, then to report back, often directly to General Patton. Based on this and other intelligence, Patton decided where and how to advance. In short, PFC Martin’s mission was to spearhead the Third Army drive across Europe.
Whether scouting routes or working with the French or German Underground, this is a memoir of survival, tales of a historic campaign seen through the eyes of an intelligent, trained observer.
The book is full of humor and engaging stories. One example of the dry humor: the “field cookbook” given in an appendix, a glimpse of GI ingenuity, with eccentric ingredients and offbeat techniques for collecting and preparing food.
Julia Child might turn up her nose, but the odd recipes will be familiar to all GIs who shared Martin’s common sense, inventiveness, and drive for survival.
Patton's Lucky Scout (308 pages) is available in paperback for $18.95.
The author, Frank Wayne Martin, lives at the Laurel Oaks Retirement Community in Glendale (Milwaukee), Wisconsin. His daughter-in-
For more information, visit the book's website (http://www.luckyscout.org), or the publisher's website, Crickhollow Books (see link above).
There is also a related blog (http://luckyscout.wordpress.com) that will host many photographs that Frank Wayne Martin took during his service in Europe.
