Rick Beyer who wrote and produced the PBS Documentary The Ghost Army will be in Galesburg at the Orpheum Theatre during the film’s showing Thursday, October 11th. The Ghost Army premiered in 2013 and has won a CINE Golden Eagle and several audience awards in film festivals. Beyer’s New York Times bestseller The Ghost Army of World War II is currently being developed as a Hollywood movie by producers Andrew Lazar and Bradley Cooper. After D-Day, during World War II, a group of hand-picked American GI’s – the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops used inflatable rubber tanks, sound trucks, and performance art to bluff the enemy – often right along the front lines. Beyer tells WGIL Thursday’s showing will feature some special guests. “I’ll introduce the film, and do Q and A afterward,” Beyer said. “I believe we’re going to have a Ghost Army veteran there. He’s in Maquon, Illinois – Harold Flynn, who was in the sonic deception part of the Ghost Army and who is 95 years old I believe. He’ll be there if he’s feeling up to it. Really our other special guests are two inflatable tanks – to give people an idea of how these deceptions were carried out.” The secret mission was kept secret for nearly 50 years after the war’s end. “There’s going to be some people in the audience who are saying – ‘He’s talking about the D-Day deception: Operation Fortitude,” Beyer added. “But this is actually an American unit that goes into action after D-Day and is using all these methodologies to fool the Germans. But doing it on the battlefield! Doing it when they’re being shelled by the enemy! And doing it not once – but doing it 21 different times. That’s what makes it such an incredible story.” Tickets for The Ghost Army are $12 and will be shown Thursday, October 11th at the Orpheum Theatre beginning at 7:00 pm. For online tickets, visit the Orpheum Theatre website.
