In this journey with goals of staying educated and always looking for stories that have barely been told, I’m continuously fascinated by what’s out there!
For the first time, I’m starting to hear about a book by Rick Beyer and Elizabeth Sayles, The Ghost Army of World War II.
From what I’m finding so far, there were over 1100 artists, by trade, in this 23rd division. They were all very creative and their talents were put to amazing use actually forming visual deceptions during the war.
(for example, inflatable tanks placed strategically in areas to divert German attention away from the real units making moves).
Along with these inflatable tanks, they intercepted and put out fake radio conversations, fake noises to simulate high activity in false areas.
Story Corps published an interview with then 104 year old troop member, Gilbert Seltzer, who later became a well accomplished architect. The story that originally aired May 25, 2019, on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday.
It also recently aired on NBC’s Sunday Today show with Willie Geist, on the A Life Well Lived spotlight story, September 19, 2021.
Today I’m thankful to find treasures like this one, stories showing how creativity and persistence truly made a huge difference in our historical stories. From what I’ve read so far, there are specific examples of how this division saved many lives by putting their artistic talents to use.
Live, Laugh, Love with everything you’ve got while you still can! 💜✨ Thank you so much for stopping by. I truly appreciate and value all of you here.