The Ghost Army: How Artists Helped Win WWII
The story of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, nicknamed the Ghost Army was made of a group of 1100 American G.I.s who baffled the German army with rubber tanks, sound effects, fake radio transmissions, and during the summer of 1944. The Ghost Army is a PBS documentary highlighting the 23rd and their unusual mission of psychological warfare. Their secret missions were to set up inflatable tanks, trucks, planes, heavy artillery and headquarters, amongst sounds of radio transmitters that looked authentic and camouflaged, but noticeable enough for the enemy to spot. Many of the 23rd went on to illustrious careers in art including designer Bill Blass, painter Ellsworth Kelly and photographer Art Kane. The phantom traveling army, devised over 20 operations including one that was so important, thousands of American lives depended on a flawless performance.
