
The Ghost Army Legacy Project today published 52 wartime letters from Sergeant Harold J. Dahl on its website. These letters document his experiences from first joining the 603rd camouflage Engineers in 1942 until returning home in 1945. They cover such topics as life in the Army, being called on to carry out a secret deception mission, heading overseases, confronting the horrors of war, and the celebration at war's end. A special postscript explores the story of a wartime romance and a search through historical archives for an answer to a 75-year old mystery.
“We are thrilled to offer more primary source materials to people researching the Ghost Army,” says Rick Beyer, President of the Ghost Army Legacy Project, “especially students doing National History Day projects.”
Harold Dahl enlisted in 1942 and rose to the rank of Sergeant in the 603rd Camouflage Engineers. The Dahl collection is one of the largest and most varied in the Ghost Army Legacy Project Archive. There are five boxes containing 431 items. Donated by Dahl’s family. The collection includes several hundred original wartime photos, and 225 letters that Dahl sent home over the course of the war. There are also a variety of other items including newspaper clippings, manuals, maps, a flattened C-Ration can, and more.
“We are thrilled to offer more primary source materials to people researching the Ghost Army,” says Rick Beyer, President of the Ghost Army Legacy Project, “especially students doing National History Day projects.”
Harold Dahl enlisted in 1942 and rose to the rank of Sergeant in the 603rd Camouflage Engineers. The Dahl collection is one of the largest and most varied in the Ghost Army Legacy Project Archive. There are five boxes containing 431 items. Donated by Dahl’s family. The collection includes several hundred original wartime photos, and 225 letters that Dahl sent home over the course of the war. There are also a variety of other items including newspaper clippings, manuals, maps, a flattened C-Ration can, and more.