During the final year of World War II, more than 1,000 soldiers, including artists, engineers, radio operators, and sound technicians, used inflatable rubber tanks, fabricated radio transmissions, recorded sound effects, and carefully staged visual illusions to convince enemy forces that large American combat units were stationed where they were not. Many of the troops trained in Northern New York at Fort Drum in Jefferson County, then known as Pine Camp, before deploying to Europe.
The unit, armed with nothing heavier than .50 caliber machine guns, included future celebrated artists and native New Yorkers such as painter, sculptor, and printmaker Ellsworth Kelly and fashion and music photographer Art Kane.
The New York State Museum will present “Ghost Army: The Combat Con Artists of World War II,” a new temporary exhibition revealing the extraordinary story of a top-secret U.S. Army unit that turned art, engineering, sound, and showmanship into weapons of war.
On view September 5 through December 27, the traveling exhibition brings visitors inside the world of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, the tactical deception unit activated by the Army on January 20, 1944.
“The Ghost Army’s story is one of extraordinary ingenuity, courage, and creativity,” according to State Museum Director Jennifer Saunders.
“The unit reportedly had one of the highest concentrations of West Point graduates of any Army unit during World War II, alongside artists, engineers, and other soldiers who used sound, technology, and deception to create entire military forces out of thin air,” she added. “Because their missions remained classified for decades, their remarkable contributions are still unfamiliar to many Americans.”
The exhibition allows visitors to explore the Ghost Army through a full-size inflatable tank illustrating the Ghost Army’s signature visual deception techniques; immersive multimedia environments exploring the use of sonic, visual, and radio deception tactics; original artifacts, including uniforms, equipment, and artwork created by members of the Ghost Army; and archival photography and displays detailing deception operations from Normandy to the Rhine River.
In addition to the exhibition, the Museum will host a special screening of the PBS documentary The Ghost Army, followed by a moderated discussion and audience Q&A with Aaron Noble, Senior Historian and Curator of Political and Military History at the New York State Museum, and Rick Beyer, author and leader of the Ghost Army Legacy Project.
That event will take place in the State Museum’s Huxley Theater on Sunday, November 1, 2026 at 2 pm. The New York State Museum is located at 222 Madison Avenue in Albany. Visit their website for more information.
Read More About New York During World War Two
Illustration: A dummy M8 Greyhound armored car (National Archives).
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