A WWII Time Capsule

 

The war had ended in Europe. Victory had been won and as the members of the USAAF 20th Photo Intelligence Detachment awaited transfer home on the Queen Mary, they created something remarkable. The 20th PID Book was assembled by the men themselves—those who spent the war studying aerial photographs, identifying targets, and helping to shape the course of Allied operations. In these pages, they chose to record not only their photo interpretation process, including numerous aerial photos with their reports to the Allied Commanders, but how they remembered their wartime journey.

 

Eighty years after the original commemorative book was created and distributed to members of the detachment, Nancy Finston, the daughter of one of these Photo Interpreters, created this edition of The 20th PID Book, faithfully restoring the original volume, enlarging many of the original photos and illustrations, and adding historical context for a modern audience.