COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) - A new exhibit at the National Veterans Memorial and Museum in Downtown Columbus honors the lives and work of the United States' "secret" army of World War II.
“Ghost Army: The Combat Con Artists of World War II” is on display starting Saturday May 25 through August 25.
The U.S. Army's 23rd Headquarters Special Troops were the first "mobile, multimedia, tactical deception unit in U.S. history," according to the exhibit created by the National World War II Museum.
Opening night for the exhibit saw a ceremony with guest speaker Pamela Pastoric Friday. Pastoric is the daughter of Private First Class Marion Pastoric (Pastorcich) who was born in Columbus.
"It's really wonderful to see people care and to learn what happened in the past, to continue to know what's going on now in the present and for the future," said Pastoric after giving a speech in front of a crowded room Friday.
The Ghost Army was made up of about 30,000 men who were artists, engineers, designers and draftees. Pastoric's father was a designer who had just finished two years at Columbus College of Art & Design.
"They were just regular guys, you know, and who knew? My dad played Sailor for us for years and years with this long white beard that he grew over Christmas. That's the kind of guy. Who was just friendly with everybody," she said.
The Ghost Army invented ways to deceive their enemies on the battlefield by using rubber inflatable tanks, trucks and planes. They would also send fake radio messages and play sound effects that would mimic the movement of trucks and tanks. For years, their work wasn't known because of how secretive the unit was.
"They're a super-secret part of the Army. And so, what I learned from the files for the Ghost Army was so secret that when someone went looking for them in the military, they couldn't find them, and they ended up at Fort Leavenworth. They would go out into the towns, I guess, and give false information in case there were spies so that they would distract," said Pastoric.
The tactics of the Ghost Army are now on display in Columbus through August 25, just in time for Memorial Day. Even re-creations of the blow-up tanks and planes are on display for all to see.
Pastoric is proud of the work her father did during the war, helping the United States and allies achieve victory. But she knows how dangerous the work was.
"During the war they blew up tanks and secretly moved in and out, impersonated different units and pretended to make things larger than they were in different places. So it was a whole sitting duck kind of thing," she said.
Tickets to see Ghost Army: The Combat Con Artists of World War II can be purchased through the National Veterans Memorial and Museum website.
