Deception and decoy are part of war strategy.
One such deceptive operation that came to light only a few years ago is the so called Ghost Army.
The men that made up this secretive unit werent your regular soldiers.
They were artists, illustrators and sound technicians handpicked for the job from New York and Philadelphia art schools.
Often the thousand-men-unit would impersonate the presence of twenty to forty thousand men.
Dummy M-4’s like this one were the mainstay of Ghost Army visual deceptions.
More than 600 inflatable tanks and artillery were set up.
At night they played the sounds of trucks rolling in.
In the daytime they played sounds of heavy construction, as if bridging units were being put together.
Artillery fire was mimicked by setting off flash canisters.
Some became famous, including fashion designer Bill Blass, painter Ellsworth Kelly and photographer Art Kane.
Fewer than 50 of the men are left today.
Photo credit: PBS documentary, The Ghost Army
Men assembling an inflatable tank.
