2 Forgotten Stories from D Day

Almost 80 years ago, the Allies landed on the beaches of Normandy, in the long-awaited invasion of Hitler’s Europe. The Nazis had been expecting an invasion, but they did not know where the Allies would land. Surely, wherever that would be, it would be a bloodbath indeed.

The events of that day have been told and retold, immortalized in film, television, and writings. But there are some lesser known events that happened there that deserved to be remembered, along with the people who’s sacrifices opened the door to Berlin, and to a free Europe.

320^th ballon barrage battalion

57, 500 US soldiers landed on the beaches of Omaha and Utah on the 6^th of June, 1944. Of these men, only around 1500 were African American. 621 of these men comprised the 320^th Barrage Balloon Battalion.

Trained at Camp Tyson in Tennessee, the 320^th was tasked with the deployment and operation of barrage balloons, which were to defend against strafing and low-level bombing by the Germans.

The balloons were about 35 feet long, and filled with highly flammable hydrogen.

Not only did these balloons serve to deter attacks, but they were also capable of destroying any planes that risked flying below 2000 feet along the beach head.

Among those serving with the 320th was a combat medic, 21-year-old corporal Waverly B. Woodson Jr. Woodson’s landing craft foundered after hitting a mine, and drifted powerlessly to shore where it was next pummeled by a German 88 millimeter shell. Woodson was one of a few who survived, although he suffered shrapnel wounds in his groin and leg.

He desperately wanted to begin to treat the wounded and dying all around him, and after reaching shore and receiving medical attention, he immediately began to do just that.

For 30 hours straight, he saved men’s lives, disregarding his own.

The Ghost Army of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops

The beaches of Normandy were chosen for good reasons. They were in range of air cover, and were not as heavily defended as the Pas de Calais, the shortest distance between Great Britain and the European Continent.

Hitler had an enormous garrison of infantry and Panzer reserves stationed at France’s Pas de Calais, and keeping them from shifting to Normandy was critical. The allies had to find a way to threaten Pas de Calais, and hence Operation Quicksilver was created, which included the First US Army Group.

Tent cities were constructed all over southern England. Massive numbers of planes, tanks, and trucks were discovered by German reconnaissance. Loading docks sprang up, complete with a fleet of landing craft.

Army camps were constructed complete with hospitals, barracks, ammo depots, and even sewage treatment plants.

The thing is, none of it was real.

The imposing force was created from inflated rubber, wood, fabric, and trickery. But from even a short distance, it was extremely convincing. Much effort was given to attention to detail. Rubber tanks and trucks don’t move, and certainly don’t leave tracks. But special equipment was brought in to create tracks for the illusion of movement, which was done under cover of night.

Since the loading docks were in range of big German guns, pyrotechnic crews were brough in to simulate explosions and fires for the occasional hit.

Movie professionals were brought in for special effects, and sounds appropriate to army activities were regularly broadcast.

Soldiers were seen wearing special patches and insignias for units and divisions that didn’t exist.

But so much was riding on the success of this deception that a real commander was needed to complete the ruse.

The Germans would expect a leader with an imposing reputation, and that’s exactly what the allies chose. The First US Army Group was not real, but its leader was a very real George S Patton, old blood and guts himself.

Patton came to England to support the illusion of the Ghost Army of a million phantom soldiers.

Nevertheless, simply fooling the Nazis as to where the landings would take place was not enough. The deception would have to continue after the landings at Normandy in order to prevent the shifting of forces to the actual landing site.

Keeping the threat to Pas de Calais real for as long as possible was the goal of the Ghost Army, and on June 9^th, 3 days after the D-Day landings, Hitler was still convinced that the real invasion had yet to come, and cancelled the transfer of reinforcements from Calais. He even redirected units that were on the way to Normandy to join them in defending against the as yet unmaterialized enemy force.

As a final touch, the Germans were led to believe that some forces from the fictitious invasion force were diverted to Normandy to replace losses, but a formidable army of nearly one million soldiers were still preparing to invade.

As the weeks went by, the relevance of the Ghost Army began to dwindle, as the allies were swiftly marching across France. The Ghost Army vanished into thin air from whence it came, victorious.

The story of the Ghost Army remained classified until 1996, and in 2022 President Biden signed a bill awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to those corporal soldiers that were the only real part of the Ghost Army that helped liberate Hitler’s Europe.