A segment on a History Channel show What History Forgot led me to a new side trail in my WWII reading. I suggest reading these two books back to back as they fit well together.

Secret Soldiers: the Story of World War II's Heroic Army of Deception, by Philip Gerard is an in-depth, well researched and detailed story of this little known part of the war. Although they were trained just like regular soldiers, and they did serve on the front lines, the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops was a group of artists, engineers, sound specialists and actors whose mission was to deceive the enemy ... make the Germans think troops were gathering 'somewhere else'. This included inflatable tanks, special sound effects of men and machines on the move, and setting up camp, etc. They did their job and then vanished from history, even after the war they were not to talk about what they did. Reading how the author did his research was as interesting as his book!

That book, rich in detail about the 23rd matched beautifully with The Ghost Army of World War II: How One Top Secret Unit Deceived the Enemy with Inflatable Tanks, Sound Effects, and Other Audacious Fakery, by Rick Beyer and Elizabeth Sayles. Many of the men were artists and spent their down time with their sketch books and those are the pictures that grace this book. Elizabeth Sayles is the daughter of William Sayles and she grew up hearing stories of the Ghost Army. Included are many personal accounts which make for a riveting read.

Reading Hermit With Dog