23rd Special Troops
The 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, The Ghost Army, was a unique, 1,100 man unit comprised of soldiers who were actors, artists, advertisers and lawyers in civilian life and were selected for their creative thinking.
The unit was involved in over 20 highly classified deception operations in the European Theater. One of their most impactful missions was Operation Fortitude leading up to the D-Day invasions, involving inflatable tanks misleading Hitler to believe Paton was commanding a landing force designated for the Pas-de-Calais instead of the actual Normandy beaches.
A little more than 50 years following World War II, the Ghost Army's existence was finally recognized following its declassification in 1996.
