"Combat Con Artists Of World War II"

Hubby Tony and I belong to the Missouri Historical Society. One of their locations is the Soldier's Memorial in downtown St. Louis. Today we went there for the opening of their latest exhibit, entitled "Ghost Army-The Combat Con Artists of World War II".

The Memorial's website described the exhibit, which came from the National World War II Museum, as:

Ghost Army: The Combat Con Artists of World War II explores the story of the US Army’s 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, a top-secret unit who waged war with inflatable tanks and vehicles, fake radio traffic, sound effects, and even phony generals. This carefully selected group of artists, engineers, professional soldiers, and draftees—armed with nothing heavier than .50 caliber machine guns—saved thousands of lives and played an important part in Allied victory in World War II.

There is no free parking around the museum, but several blocks of on-street spots were reserved for attendees. Tony and I got there early and walked around downtown until it was time to go in. The event started with opening remarks in the auditorium, including from the daughter of one of the Ghost Army members who had St. Louis connections

After the remarks there were three options to choose from. We could go immediately to the exhibit on the basement level, stay in the auditorium and watch a PBS documentary from 2013 called The Ghost Army, or go down to the hall and partake of the complimentary breakfast. We chose the last option, which was a nice buffet that included an egg casserole, pancakes, fried potatoes, bacon, sausage patties, and fresh fruit. 

We took seats at one of the large round tables, and were soon joined by others. After we finished eating we walked back to the auditorium, and joined the video in progress. It moved back and forth between interviews with Ghost Army members and historical perspectives. I learned that the unit operated all over Europe, and used four tactics to confuse the Nazis:

• Visual deception (inflatable tanks, jeeps, airplanes, trucks, and cannons to create the illusion of camps, airfields, and formations)
• Sonic deception (sound projection to produce noises intended to mislead the enemy)
• Radio deception (impersonating Morse Code radio operators from real units)
• Atmosphere (using insignia of actual units to make the enemy think the unit was there)
  

Information about the Ghost Army was classified until 1996. In 2022 members were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

After the video Tony and I went down to the actual exhibit, which had written, audio, and three-dimension components. There were quite a few docents to answer questions and provide additional information. 

The exhibit will be there until the middle of January. If you're in the local area you should really think about going.

Unit insignia sticker

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