Ghost Army of WWII

—These soldiers fought with paint brushes
CRESCO - World War II soldier. What comes to your mind? A young man wearing a green uniform and helmet, carrying a rifle or machine gun, with a cigarette hanging loosely by his lips? Perhaps he is ready to go into combat or just got out of a fight.
That is the image shown in pictures sent home to loved ones and portrayed on the big screen.
But not all soldiers carried a gun. Some of them fought with a needle and thread, hammer and paint brushes. 
No, they did not fight the Germans with brushes held out like fencing swords. The Ghost Army used the paint brushes to deceive the enemy, saving 15,000-30,000 lives in the process.
The secret army was part of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops that worked in France and Germany, and the 3133rd Signal Company Special, which was in Italy. It included a total of 1,023 men under 82 officers.
Both groups used inflatable balloons shaped and painted to look like tanks, planes and cannons to visually deceive the Germans and 500-pound speakers to pull a fast one on the enemy’s ears!
The Germans would think they needed to protect that area, when in fact, the real army was at another location.
Kind of hard to believe, isn’t it?
What may be even harder to imagine is that a former local soft-spoken school administrator was one of those 1,100 men!
 
Educator
In 1960, Walter Haynes moved with his wife, Ruth, to Cresco to become the junior high principal. They raised their two children, Allan and Deb, and he retired in 1983.
His obituary, from his death on July 10, 2012, stated he enjoyed his family, reading, playing cards, fishing and popcorn. It also mentions serving in the U.S. Army in WWII.
What it doesn’t mention is how he was part of a top-secret unit that was sworn to secrecy for 50 years.
 
Training
Haynes wrote of his experiences during WWII before he passed.
He enlisted in the Army Signal Corp in May 1942. He was in the reserves and then went to radio repair school in Waterloo. “I was sent to radio repair and fundamentals school in Steamboat Springs, Colo.” After he completed the course, he was inducted into the regular army and sent to Camp Crowder, Mo. for basic training. He then was assigned to pre-officers training there.
Haynes had more training and then went to radio school in Ft. Monmouth, N.J. “Shortly after arriving I was given the opportunity to volunteer for a secret assignment. With little information regarding our new assignment, we were shipped to Pine Camp, N.Y. Here we found ourselves in the 3133rd Signal Service Company. We were to be part of a sonic deception unit using full track, tank destroyers (M10).”
 
Sound deception
The company consisted of three platoons of six tanks each and one command tank, which had not been altered. The men also had a semi-truck full of up-to-date dubbing equipment and a library of thousands of sounds, which the technicians used to prepare the program.
They had sounds of soldiers hammering spikes into the ground simulating the building of a bridge. The soldiers were laughing and swearing as they worked, clanging their hammers and driving machinery. 
Other sounds were made imitating light artillery, infantry units moving, tank units or whatever else was needed to fool the enemy.
“Our assignment was to be located near the front, in enfilade [gunfire directed against an enfiladed formation or position—is also commonly known as flanking fire], and using a pre-recorded program.”
The ear-piercingly loud sounds mimicked all sounds of a group of 15,000 or more troops making camp, moving or just talking. Some of the sounds could be heard 15 miles away.
With his radio experience, Haynes was more involved with the sounds of war in fooling the Germans, but he also helped the other group — the artists.
 
Send in the Rubber Tanks
An army can’t be duped just by hearing sounds. They also have to see what is making those sounds . . . tanks, cannons, generals and airplanes.
To make it look like a large battalion was nearby, rubber tanks were inflated, along with the other props to make the threat look real.
The artists and engineers, including fashion designer Bill Blass, painter Ellsworth Kelly, photographer Art Kane . . . and future Crestwood principal Walter Haynes, made the area seem occupied.
Bill Kosters was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time when Haynes and WWII prisoner of war Oscar Moen talked about their experiences.
“I had just watched the movie on Gen. Patton and was interested,” said Kosters. He laughed that Haynes called Patton “an egotistical j@ck@$$.” The famed general didn’t want to be part of the deception, he wanted to be where the fighting was.
“Walter said they would have to find wood logs to help hold [the rubber props] up. They didn’t have good glue, so a lot of stuff was stitched. They used some sort of cardboard as well. If there wasn’t enough material, they’d use branches and trees to hold things in place. Some of it had to be folded and tucked and held down so it didn’t blow in the wind. It was then all painted to look real.
“Walter was a designer. He was very talented . . . very good at drafting and putting things together. He helped figure out all the dynamics.
“Walter said they had to keep putting air in the tanks. They used foot pumps and hand pumps.” He joked that it would be like the Christmas decorations of today and how quickly they can deflate or inflate again.
The three men sat for about two hours. Kosters also learned Moen lost one-third of his body weight on a death march.
Kosters was thankful the two veterans allowed him to sit with them as they reminisced.
 
Some fun, not all games
There is one report the fantom army was so good an Allied pilot asked permission to land amongst the ghost planes on the ground, thinking it was an airport.
Another time, shortly after D-Day, two French peasants came across four members of the 23rd lifting up a 40-ton Sherman tank. One of the soldiers quipped, “The Americans are very strong!”
Although members of the Ghost Army were not in the thick of things, three soldiers were killed and dozens wounded during their secret missions.
 
The 3133rd campaigns
When Haynes finished his training, the 3133rd was shipped to the Italian Theater of War, landing at Leghorn, Italy, in 1945. “General Mark Clark was our commander, and we were an independent unit within the 5th Army. Our first bivouac [temporary camp without tents or cover] was close to the Leaning Tower of Pisa and quite exciting.”
The history books say the 3133rd executed two campaigns in Italy near then end of the war.
Haynes recalled, “Our missions were in the Apennines Mountains and on into the Po Valley, where we were when the war ended. We maintained our top-secret classifications throughout the war. 
“The Germans pulled back wherever we were, which indicated we were very successful on our missions.
“We were helped by a unit called the Royal British Camouflage Company. They were experts in setting up all kinds of fake tanks, trucks and guns, all made from inflatable rubber, and then poorly camouflaged on purpose.”
 
The 23rd Campaigns
Members of the 23rd, were trained at Camp Forest, Tenn. The group carried out over 20 large-scale deceptions in Europe from Normandy, starting in May 1944.
One of its biggest phony schemes was when the unit set up 10 miles south of the spot where two divisions were to cross the Rhine River. 
The 23rd drew attention away from the real army and used their fantom army to trick the Germans with inflatable tanks and other props and sent misleading radio messages.
Some members of the 23rd would also visit bars, acting as officers, “accidentally” telling the locals some military secrets, hoping the information would get into German hands.
 
End of the War
Haynes related that after the war ended in Italy, the equipment he worked with was sent to the China-Burma-India Theater.
“We were held in Italy, and our unit was broken up. After a couple of short assignments, I was sent to Gorizia, Italy, near the border of Yugoslavia.
“After the war, I enjoyed several interesting trips as Rest and Relaxation to Milan, Rome, Venice, Nice, France and, best of all, to Mussolini’s mountaintop hide-away. It was very elaborate and a wonderful place to vacation, with movies, hiking, horseback, riding and wonderful food.”
 
Secrets Kept
Haynes was deactivated at Camp Grant, Ill. on Feb. 6, 1946. He went on to graduate from Iowa State Teachers College and taught industrial arts, math and science at Keystone and Cedar Falls. After receiving his masters from UNI, he came to Cresco.
He was the junior high principal and Ruth retired from the courthouse as deputy clerk. According to son, Allan, “They enjoyed many happy years in retirement in Cresco until their passing.”
Over the years, Haynes did so well in keeping his secret that very few people knew the vital role he played in WWII. 
He even kept it from the school board that hired him. Because who would hire such a con artist to teach and care for their children!
[Editor’s note: I found this story very intriguing. I would suggest to anyone who also finds it interesting, to Google Ghost Army and learn more about the story. For those who want more, a Ghost Army Exhibit is on display at the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center in Skokie, Ill., near Chicago, from June 16, 2022-Jan. 2, 2023. ]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Cresco Times

Phone: 563-547-3601
Fax: 563-547-4602

Address:
Cresco TPD
214 N. Elm Street
Cresco, IA 52136

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