Ghost Army subject of lunch talk

Rick Beyer, an award-winning documentary filmmaker, will speak in Knoxville on October 8 about the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, one of the most extraordinary units in modern military history that trained in Tennessee.

The talk will be during a brown bag lecture that Monday at the East Tennessee History Center, 601 South Gay Street, Knoxville.

Known as the Ghost Army, the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops conjured up phony convoys, phantom divisions and make-believe headquarters to fool the enemy about the strength and location of American units during World War II in Europe.

The unit had its beginnings at Camp Forrest, Tennessee, and was fully formed at Pine Camp, New York before sailing for the United Kingdom in May 1944.

Historians say the secret unit tricked Germans from a few weeks before the invasion at Normandy until the end of the war, with inflatable tanks, sound trucks, fake radio transmissions, scripts and deception. Details of the unit were classified for decades after the war.

Beyer, whose work has appeared on the History Channel, National Geographic, PBS, and other networks, is a bestselling author and co-author of the book The Ghost Army of World War II.

The lecture is free, open to the public and will begin at noon.

Guests are invited to bring a brown bag lunch and enjoy the lecture. Soft drinks will be available.

For more information, visit the History Center’s website.