Roanoke, VA – Bob Woodward’s revelation of America’s “secret weapon” in Iraq during a 60 Minutes interview created a stir among bloggers. While Woodward refuses to divulge detailed information, the weapon appears to be a highly-sophisticated information gathering device aimed at terrorists.
“Information is the most important weapon in all wars,” says military historian A.B. “Bud” Feuer, author of Coast Watching in WWII: Operations Against the Japanese on the Solomon Islands 1941-43 (ISBN 978-0-8117-3329-
Feuer, who specializes in writing about military secrets, was an infrared specialist while serving with the U.S. Navy from 1943-46. At that time, infrared was a top secret technology and Feurer trained submarine crews and coast watchers in how to use infrared devices.
“The secret weapon Woodward refers to is probably some type of drone containing a highly-sophisticated listening device that monitors conversations of terrorists,”
The author of more than a dozen WWII and Spanish-American War military history books, Feuer especially is known for revealing history that few Americans know about, such as the coast watchers in the South Sea islands, the Australian commandos’ secret war against the Japanese, and General Chennault’s secret weapon in WWII.
Most of Feuer’s military history is based on either first-hand accounts or interviews with the military leaders and soldiers engaged in making history.
The coast watchers were bands of highly-trained and courageous men who operated from the jungles and mountains of the Solomon Islands to warn the U.S. military and allies of incoming Japanese fleets and airplanes. At that time they relied on teleradios, then state of the art communications technology, to pass on information to the military.
“The element of surprise – the best weapon in any assault – was taken away from the Japanese by the coast watchers,” says Feuer. “That meant that coast watching alone was responsible for the success of the air war. During the early and uncertain days of the American struggle to wrest Guadalcanal from the Japanese, the reports and timely warnings from Stations JEF and STO on Bougainville were directly responsible for the enemy’s defeat.”
About A.B. Feuer
A.B. Feuer is a career journalist and freelance writer who has built a national reputation as a military historian who specializes in World War II. Feuer especially is known for revealing history that few Americans know about such as the coast watchers on the Solomon Islands. After spending 50 years with the Chicago Tribune, Feuer retired in 1985 and moved to Roanoke, VA, where he began assembling the stories he had written earlier about WWII into books of military history. Feuer has published more than a dozen books and has written several hundred stories that have appeared in magazines.
