Brown Bag Lecture Webinar w/ Rick Beyer – Author, Documentary Filmmaker, Historian

The Ghost Army of World War II: Call them warriors of illusion, or a symphony of subterfuge – During World War II, a handpicked group of GIs landed in France to conduct a secret mission. The men of the Twenty-Third Headquarters Special Troops, known as the Ghost Army, used inflatable tanks, sound effects, fake radio transmissions and even impersonation to fool the enemy about the strength and location of American units. And this extraordinary deception unit has a Woonsocket connection – many of their inflatables were manufactured right here! Author and documentary filmmaker, Rick Beyer, presents this amazing story in an engaging multimedia presentation that includes photos, maps, video clips and other materials. Many of the soldiers were artists, and Beyer weaves their wartime art into this incredible tale of creativity being used to save lives.

Rick Beyer is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, a New York Times bestselling author and a long-time history enthusiast. A new edition of the book The Ghost Army of World War II was published in October. Rick also produced and directed the award-winning PBS documentary The Ghost Army. He has spoken to audiences around the country and shared his unique take on history on CBS, NBC, NPR and Fox News.