Talk:Ghost Army

Military history: North America / United States / World War II Start‑class

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Merger proposal

Concerning the idea of merging this page with the Ghost Soldier page.

It makes a lot of sense, since they are about the same thing. There are some errors in that article that I think need to be addressed:

1) The phrase "Ghost Army" is widely used in reference to the unit, but I have never heard the phrase "Ghost Soldiers" used for this unit except on the Wikipedia page by that name. So I think that reference should probably be dropped, unless someone has a good source on it.

2) The Ghost Soldier article says that the unit was "a camouflage battalion deployed in Europe following the Battle of Normandy." Actually they were deployed beginning DURING the Battle of Normandy, and only part of the unit was a camouflage battalion. There was also a sonic company, a signal company, and Combat Engineers (see attached article).

3) Although the army recruited artists and some other technical specialists, many of the soldiers in the unit were just regular GIs.

4) The Ghost Soldier article mentions "Cast-iron paratroopers." None of the sources (primary and secondary) that I have consulted make any mention of these. I believe that is false.

5) The Ghost Soldier article reads in part: 'The unit's elaborate ruses helped deflect German units from the locations of larger allied combat units. "They were so successful that sometimes a huge German unit would surrender to them," said Jack Kneece, author of Ghost Army of World War II.' There is no instance in which "a huge German unit" surrendered to the Ghost Army. There have been three books on the unit, and one by Jack Kneece is not the most reliable.

As long as these errors in fact can be changed/omitted, merging the pages makes lots of sense. I, as a Wikipedia newcomer, have no idea how to go about that.

Thanks for any help that can be offered.

Rickbeyer 20:25, 28 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, Rickbeyer. I proposed the merger, but I was hesitant to merge these articles until someone knowledgeable like yourself stepped forward with some useful insight. I will soon go about redirecting the Ghost soldier page to The Ghost Army, and I will take what is good from Ghost soldier and incorporate it here. Thanks. Awbeal 17:40, 1 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Okay, I've done it. Please check behind me to see if I have made any incorrect moves. Awbeal 19:58, 1 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It looks good to me. Rickbeyer 18:42, 6 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]