During WWII, in July 1941, Martin was called to active duty to serve as the campaign in Europe was heating up. His fascination with flying had him choose to serve with the Army Air Corps. Due to his colorblindness, Martin was disqualified as a P-40 fighter pilot but with his stubborn tenacity he found a way to beat the tests and convince the doctors that he had no such problem when he applied to become a glider pilot. He trained on every aircraft available before they allowed him to train as a glider pilot. It takes a special kind of pilot to fly gliders because every mistake can prove fatal, so Martin was thrilled to be among the elite group of glider pilots to serve.
In 1942, he married the love of his life, Esther, but their honeymoon was cut short by his immediate deployment to the 82nd Airborne’s 325th Glider Infantry Wing to fly sorties over Europe.
His unit was involved with Operation Market Garden which successfully kept the German Army from destroying the bridges in the Nijmegen sector of Grave, Netherlands. Martin piloted the 15-troop glider the Waco CG4A. They flew behind enemy lines on September 18, 1944. The glider came under fire as Martin flew his payload of troops and equipment toward Nijmegen. One wing was shot through and one of the soldiers on the plane was hit with shrapnel in the buttocks. After they landed, another soldier used his bayonet to dig out the metal and filled the wound with sulfa before bandaging it.
As Martin and three of his men walked through the battlefield toward the newly liberated towns of Belgium; they surreptitiously advanced along the road but at times had to avoid being detected by enemy troops by breaking off reeds from nearby marshes and then using them as snorkels to swim completely submerged in roadside canals. A few times they were forced into firefights with the enemy and even captured a few prisoners in the process. After many days they finally made it into Brussels and noticed other soldiers in town who were all in clean uniforms. They on the other hand, were quite a sight, covered in mud and manure from head to toe. Their smell matched their look and Martin felt quite embarrassed slinking into town and trying to stay unnoticed but they were discovered. Instead of recoil, the newly liberated townspeople grabbed them up and treated them as heroes. They were given food and drink as they related the success of the 325th Glider Infantry Wing during the second day of Operation Market Garden.
Soon they found their way to an inn where they were able to clean up and rest. Most of the gliders were recovered from the battlefield, rebuilt, and then reused with Martin flying several more missions.
While he was resting in Brussels before heading back to England where the 82nd Airborne was stationed, he had time to explore a bit with his Kodak Senior six-20 camera. As the war continued and R&R was mandated, Martin wouldn’t rest but spent his time exploring the natural marvels of Europe. After Market Garden he rested at Ullapool, Scotland on the eastern shores of Loch Broom. When the 325th base was transferred to France, he would take R&R on the Mediterranean around Monaco. He took photos of people shopping, doing laundry, going to church, children playing, all while the war raged around them. Occasional gunfire from random combat was juxtaposed by everyday living. The reality of war is that life continues until it is stopped.http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_27047165/martin-litton-legendary-conservation-leader-dies-at-age
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