The 23rd Headquarters Special Troops — the Ghost Army — were a top-secret tactical deception unit of the U.S. Army. Comprising 1,100 men, the unit deployed across Europe from D-Day onward and staged more than 20 deception operations, inflating rubber tanks, trucks, and artillery pieces, broadcasting fake radio traffic, and playing recorded sound effects of entire armored divisions.
The unit included artists, set designers, sound engineers, and advertising executives recruited from civilian life. Many had been illustrators for magazines, architects, and even a Disney animator. Their inflatable tanks, manufactured by Goodyear, looked convincing from half a mile away when properly inflated. The men moved them to different positions during the day to simulate the arrival of entire armored columns.
Before the Rhine crossing in March 1945, the Ghost Army parked inflatable tanks and broadcast phony radio signals indicating that the 30th and 79th Infantry Divisions were concentrating several miles from the actual crossing point. The Germans redirected artillery and troops to defend an empty field while real American forces crossed the Rhine unopposed. The deception was credited with saving thousands of lives.
The unit's existence remained classified for decades. Every member signed a pledge of silence enforced by court-martial. Many families did not learn what their fathers had done until the classification was lifted in 1996, over 50 years later. The Ghost Army received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2022, 77 years after the war ended.