In a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol in March of 2024, three of the last surviving members of the Ghost Army received the Congressional Gold Medal. Among them were 100-year-old Bernard Bluestein from Illinois and 100-year-old Seymour Nussenbaum from New Jersey. Both men were part of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, a secretive World War II unit known for its creative use of deception to mislead German forces and save thousands of American lives.
Bluestein, who joined the Ghost Army’s visual deception unit after attending the Cleveland Institute of Art, pursued a career in industrial design following the war. Nussenbaum, a former student at Pratt Institute, helped create counterfeit patches and other deceptive elements used by the unit. Their presence at the ceremony marked the culmination of years of efforts to secure recognition for the Ghost Army’s contributions, which were kept classified for more than five decades.
What was the Ghost Army?
The Ghost Army, which operated in France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany between 1944 and 1945, used inflatable tanks, fake radio transmissions and sound effects to divert enemy attention from actual Allied forces.
Courtesy of National Archives
The unit is credited with saving between 15,000 and 30,000 American soldiers. In addition to Bluestein and Nussenbaum, families of other Ghost Army veterans were present, representing those who had passed away before the unit’s operations were declassified in 1996.
Discover the Ghost Army WWII exhibit in St. Louis
Now that the Ghost Army has received its long-overdue recognition a new exhibition honoring them will open at the Soldiers Memorial Military Museum in St. Louis on Sept. 25. “Ghost Army: The Combat Con Artists of World War II” will highlight the ingenious tactics the unit used to deceive the enemy.
Organized by the National WWII Museum, the exhibit features artifacts including inflatable military equipment, archival photographs and sketches from Ghost Army officers. Visitors will get a firsthand look at how the unit’s tactical deceptions played out on the battlefields of Europe.
How WWII deception tactics saved thousands of lives
Mark Sundlov, managing director of the Soldiers Memorial Military Museum, called the Ghost Army’s contributions “pioneering,” adding, “Despite their efforts being classified for more than 50 years, the tactics they employed were crucial in saving lives and significantly contributed to the Allied victory.”
The St. Louis exhibit is part of a national tour that began at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans in 2020. Along with the exhibit, author and filmmaker Rick Beyer, who co-authored a book and produced a PBS documentary on the Ghost Army, will give a talk at the museum on Nov. 24. The event is free and open to the public.
The Jewish connection to the Ghost Army
Many Jewish soldiers played key roles in the Ghost Army, including Lt. Gilbert Seltzer and Philip Edelstein. Seltzer, a renowned architect, used his creative skills to lead operations that misdirected German forces through the use of inflatable tanks, sound effects and phony radio transmissions. He continued to share his experiences well into his later years, passing away in 2021 at the age of 106.
Edelstein, who served in the Signal Corps, was instrumental in radio communications, helping deceive German forces during key operations like the Battle of the Bulge and the Rhine River crossing. His family only discovered his role decades after the war.
For Jewish soldiers, the stakes were even higher. They knew capture by the Nazis could mean certain death due to their heritage. Despite the risks, they excelled in their duties, driven by a deep sense of purpose to help defeat the Nazis.
The exhibit runs through Jan. 12, 2025 and aims to ensure that the story of the Ghost Army and its unsung heroes is never forgotten.
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