Author Beverley Eddy presents a discussion on a little-known piece of WWII history! They were not your typical World War II soldiers. Most were not in particularly good physical shape, and many had trouble handling their weapons. They differed widely in their ages, politics, and skills. Many worked in academia, media, and the arts. They were a strange mix of Americans and foreign nationals, immigrants, and refugees, linked by their language skills, knowledge of Europe, and a desire to defeat the Axis. During the war, the U.S. Army trained them in psychological warfare at a secret camp on the Gettysburg battlefield and then sent them to Europe. They became known as “Psycho Boys,” a group of soldiers who have never received their due respect. In this book Beverley Driver Eddy, author of Ritchie Boy Secrets, tells their rarely heard story and shows the vital role they played in the Allied war effort.
Beverley Driver Eddy is Professor Emerita of German at Dickinson College. In her recent books -- biographies and military histories -- she has been interested in showing how the lives of individuals intersect with cataclysmic events, especially with the upheavals of the Second World War. Most recently, she has published a double biography of Thomas Mann's two oldest children (Erika and Klaus Mann: Living with America) and the history of Camp Ritchie, Maryland (Ritchie Boy Secrets).
Registration: https://www.eventkeeper.com/code/ekform.cfm?curOrg=CCLS&curName=2023/12/09_Author_Talk_-_Beverley_Eddy_-_The_Psycho_Boys
