Secret Soldiers: The Story Of World War II's Heroic Army Of Deception

Secret Soldiers: The Story of World War II's Heroic Army of Deception

From BooklistTheater designers, sound technicians, painters--these are not at first glance the kind of vocations that bring to mind war heroics until one considers their record of deception in war. One operation famously fooled the Germans about where D-Day would land; less well known are the doings of the unit Gerard has brought to light. In this originally researched saga of the Twenty-third Headquarters Special Troops, Gerard explains that actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr. lobbied to have a deception unit created. Press flack Hilton Howell Railey was appointed to assemble the troops, and he picked creative people (including future fashion plate Bill Blass) attuned to visuals vital to deception. Once shipped to Europe, the Twenty-third, now under the command of a career officer, tried to perpetrate frauds on the Germans by posing either as fake divisions or as real divisions that were actually posted elsewhere. Gerard interviewed veterans and read their war papers in doing research for his book, and their personal experiences are the highlight of this work. Fresh material for the WWII shelf. Gilbert TaylorCopyright ? American Library Association. All rights reservedProfiles the virtually unknown 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, an elite, thousand-man "ghost army" that helped win the Battle of Europe and fought in more campaigns than any other unit in the European Theater of Operations. 30,000 first printing.From Publishers WeeklyAlthough it includes some U.S. Navy deception activities carried out by the late actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr., among others, novelist Philip Gerard's Secret Soldiers: The Story of World War II's Heroic Army of Deception concentrates on the WWII activities of the Army's 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, whose activities were kept secret for many years. The 23rd used sound effects, camouflage and radio to mislead the Germans about Allied plans and conceal Allied troop movements during the liberation of France and the invasion of Germany in 1944-1945. Their story is told here through veteran recollections, memoirs and published works, and includes anecdotes of army life and combat.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.About the AuthorPhilip Gerard is the author of three critically acclaimed novels and two works of nonfiction, including Creative Nonfiction. He has scripted eleven documentaries for public television, and has been a contributor to NPR's All Things Considered. Currently he holds a distinguished teaching professorship in the creative writing department of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.