Soldiers Memorial Military Museum Unveils Ghost Army World War II Exhibition
On September 25, 2024, Soldiers Memorial Military Museum will unveil a new exhibition titled Ghost Army: The Combat Con Artists of World War II. The exhibition tells the story of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops — the first mobile, multimedia, tactical deception unit in US Army history. The unit waged war with inflatable tanks and vehicles, fake radio traffic, sound effects and even phony generals, using imagination and illusion to trick the enemy while saving thousands of lives. Along with the 3133rd Signal Service Company in Italy, the unit helped liberate Europe from the grip of Nazi tyranny.
Soldiers Memorial Military Museum Exterior / Photo courtesy of Missouri Historical Society.
The unique and top-secret “Ghost Army” unit — comprised of 82 officers and 1,023 men — was the brainchild of Colonel Billy Harris and Major Ralph Ingersoll. Activated on January 20, 1944, under the command of Army veteran Colonel Harry L. Reeder, the group was capable of simulating two whole divisions (approximately 30,000 troops) by using visual, sonic and radio deception to fool German forces during the final year of World War II.
Great 23 Tompkins Blass Mud / Photo courtesy of GALP - Bob Tompkins Collection.
Armed with nothing heavier than .50-caliber machine guns, the 23rd took part in 22 large-scale deceptions in Europe from Normandy to the Rhine River, the bulk of the unit arriving in England in May 1944, shortly before D-Day.
Dummy 155 / courtesy of National Archives.
Mark Sundlov, Managing Director of the Soldiers Memorial Military Museum, stated, “Ghost Army examines the courage, heroism, and tactical brilliance of a pioneering military unit. Despite their efforts being classified for more than 50 years, the innovative and deceptive tactics they employed on the battlefield were crucial in saving lives and significantly contributed to the Allied victory. Soldiers Memorial is honored to showcase their essential contributions to the war effort.”
Ghost Army features inflatable military pieces, historical narrative text panels detailing unit operations, profiles of unit officers, archival photography and sketches and uniforms from unit officers. The exhibit presents exclusive, original content from The National WWII Museum archives along with a historical artifact collection curated and donated to the Museum by Ghost Army Legacy Project President and Exhibit Consultant Rick Beyer. The exhibition debuted at The National WWII Museum in New Orleans in March 2020 before embarking on a national tour to share the story of the Ghost Army with communities across the country.
Dummy Armored Car / courtesy of National Archives
“The renovations at Soldiers Memorial Military Museum gave us the temporary gallery that will be home to this exciting and educational exhibit about WWII history, ” said Jody Sowell, President and CEO of the Missouri Historical Society. “We are proud to fulfill our promise to make sure Soldiers Memorial remains a dynamic space that keeps the community returning time and time again.”
In tandem with the exhibition, the Museum will also host author and filmmaker Rick Beyer, whose book The Ghost Army of World War II: How One Top-Secret Unit Deceived the Enemy with Inflatable Tanks, Sound Effects and Other Audacious Fakery offers detailed insight into the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops and their creative deceptions on the battlefields of Europe that would earn them Congressional Gold Medals. The presentation will happen on Sunday, November 24th, at 2:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public.
Ghost Army: The Combat Con Artists of World War II will be on view through January 12, 2025. The exhibit is organized by The National WWII Museum in New Orleans and exclusively sponsored by E. L. Wiegand Foundation. For more information visit mohistory.org/SoldiersMemorial.