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 Beverly Driver Eddy author of Ritchie Boy Secrets tells their
rarely heard story and argues for their importance to the Allied war effort.At Gettysburg the
Psycho Boys were taught the various skills that would be necessary in the European campaign
from D-Day onward: prisoner and civilian interrogation broadcasting loudspeaker appeals
leaflet and newspaper production and technical support. The 800 men were divided into four
mobile radio broadcasting companies and sent to Europe to land on D-Day fight in Normandy and
at the Bulge and participate in the conquest of Germany and the liberation of the
concentration camps. Some of the soldiers operated well out in front of Allied lines and - in
German - called on enemy soldiers to surrender. Others worked behind the lines printing
propaganda leaflets and making radio broadcasts.Drawing on company histories memoirs and
interviews this book traces the history of the 2nd 3rd 4th and 5th Mobile Radio
Broadcasting Companies and the men who served. For far too long these soldiers were maligned
as mere paragraph troopers? who weren't in the line of fire. As Eddy shows the Psycho Boys
made important contributions to victory in World War II by encouraging enemy soldiers to desert
or surrender and in other indirect ways. Their story is interesting important and vital.
