Post by Atticus Pizzaballa on May 27, 2023 9:51:03 GMT -5
The Ghost Army of World War II
In Maryland’s Hillcrest Memorial Gardens, a fairly simple gravestone marks the resting place of Alvin Louis Shaw. As you can see from the inscription beneath his name, Shaw was a WWII veteran who served with the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops.
These few words conceal the unusual role this unit played, one that was strictly kept secret for 50 years after the war. It wasn’t until the 1990s, when the classified status was lifted, that the men of the 23rd began to share stories from their time with what came to be called “The Ghost Army.”
The Ghost Army
The 23rd Headquarters Special Troops were a deception-based unit of around 1100 men who worked together to create elaborate ruses in the final year of WWII. Their job was to help fool German forces about the true numbers and movements of U.S. troops. Though the success of their assignments is hard to quantify, their deceptions are believed to have saved hundreds, if not thousands, of lives.
Aside from the HQ staff, four companies made up the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops: The 406th Engineer Combat Company; the Signal Company Special; the 3132nd Signal Service Company; and the company to which Alvin Shaw belonged, the 603rd Engineer Camouflage Battalion. Together these “Cecil B. DeMille Warriors,” as veteran Dick Syracuse lovingly called his unit, used their talents for art, sound design, radio, and subterfuge to create one of the most imaginative military deceptions in history.
Read More I never knew anything about this. Great way to keep there memory alive.
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