The story of the 23rd headquarters Special Troops was officially secret from the end of the war until 1996. The official documents were kept locked away, and many (though not all) veterans recall being told not to talk about it for 50 years. Still, there were a few stories that appeared from time to time.
1945: "Ghost Army Fools Foe in Neatest Trick of the War"
In the summer of 1945, Sebastian Messina, a twenty-eight-year-old corporal from the Signal Company Special went home to Worcester, Massachusetts, for a few weeks’ leave. While there, he talked to a newspaper reporter from the Worcester Daily Telegram about his unusual wartime experiences. The reporter wrote a story, which the paper duly submitted to War Department censors who ordered it withheld from publication. But two weeks, with the war over and the censorship office closed, the paper felt free to go to press. Messina’s revelations led to the first telling of the Ghost Army tale on August 29, 1944. A number of other publications picked up on the story, so there was a burst of publicity about the unit. Soon the Pentagon was able to colamp down, and very little about the Ghost Army popped up in the press over the next forty years,
1954: "Battle of the Bulge as Seen from HQ"
Fred Fox served in the 23rd and wrote the official history of the unit. After the war he attended divinity schoo, became a minister, and wrote freelance articles for the New York Times. In this 1954 article marking the 10th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, he cleverly mentions the activities of the unit without quite giving away all the beans. Fox later worked in the EIsenhower White House, where he tried and failed to get the whole story declassified. He eventiually became the recorder of gifts at Princeton.
1985: "A Phantom Division Played a Role in Germany's Defeat"
In 1985, Ghost Army veteran Arthur Shilstone, an illustrator, brought up the topic of World War II over lunch with an editor and art director from Smithsonian magazine. They were amazed by his Ghost Army stories, and the lunchtime talk led to a 1985
article by Edwards Park, which Shilstone illustrated. It was the first fullscale public telling of the storysince the 1945 Worcester Telegram article that escaped the censors. Around this same time, according to Roy eichhorn, former director of research at the US Combined Arms Center, the official history was briefly declassified, and then re-classified again. It would not be declassified for good until 1986.
article by Edwards Park, which Shilstone illustrated. It was the first fullscale public telling of the storysince the 1945 Worcester Telegram article that escaped the censors. Around this same time, according to Roy eichhorn, former director of research at the US Combined Arms Center, the official history was briefly declassified, and then re-classified again. It would not be declassified for good until 1986.
Copyright 1985 Smithsonian Institution. Reprinted with permission from Smithsonian Enterprises. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any medium is strictly prohibited without permission from Smithsonian magazine.
