Ghost Army of World War II

Ghost Army of World War II
Jack Kneece
Pelican Publishing Company
ISBN: 1-56554-876-0
Non-Fiction, Military History
Reviewed by Dr. Tami Brady

After the bombing of Pearl Harbour are several German accounts of a so-called “Phantom Armies” that seemed to appear and disappear out of nowhere causing chaos for the German soldiers and essentially aiding the Allied victory. However, none of these musing were ever taken seriously, particularly because the United States government never announced that any sort of special “distraction” forces ever fought in World War II. Then, in 1996, top secret information was declassified that the sole purpose of the Twenty-third Headquarters Special Troops of the United States Army was indeed acts of deception intended to mislead and deceive the German Military. These men were aptly nicknamed the “Ghost Army”.
For over fifty years, the over one thousand men who served with the Ghost Army as virtual set designers, actors, and radio control misinformation officers were sworn to complete secrecy. The families of these individuals weren’t even allowed to know where their loved ones were stationed. Few memoirs, diaries, and detailed records even exist as no one wanted knowledge of these special forces to be discovered by the Germans.

Ghost Army of World War II has wrangled together what little knowledge is known about these men and their 21-55 different operations. This book contains all sorts of declassified information, photographs, memoirs, and interviews with those veterans still alive. It is such a shame that so many brave, extremely creative individuals never really got recognised for their important contribution to the war effort.