The Artist’s Perspective
Private First Class Ed Biow and the
603rd Camouflage Battalion of the Ghost Army
“I was an 18-year-old art student at Pratt Institute when I was recruited for a secret military battalion. It was in 1944, during World War II. The U.S. Military was looking especially for artists.
“We were sent for special training to Camp Forrest, Tennessee. I was a Private 1st Class. My bunkmate was Bill Blass, who turned out later to be a famous fashion designer. I remember once a bunch of us sat and drew some beautiful army nurses. It was part of the training, along with camouflage painting techniques.
“I was tall and skinny, and my glasses were always smudged. My pants were never tucked into my boots. This habit got me into trouble. We were a diverse group of artists and we all had an independent attitude.
“This never went over very well with the officers, especially Lieutenant George Rittenhouse, our platoon leader. Because of him and my untucked pants, I entered the army a Private 1st Class and left the army a Private 1st Class. He stood up straight, with his boots polished. He held his arms next to his body, just like General Patton did. I can still see him in my mind, and I’m 82 now.
“We saw action in almost every important campaign against the Germans – St. Lo, the battles for Paris, Brest and Luxembourg, the Saar Campaign, the Liberation of Cherbourg, and most importantly, the Rhine Crossing.
“On March 7, 1945, the genuine Allied Forces crossed the Rhine at Remagen. Because the Germans thought the Allies were at Viersen, where we were, there were very few casualties. A newspaper reported later, ‘The Germans were tearing their hair out trying to determine which part of a campaign was real and which was fake.’ They never caught on to us, never found out we existed, because we were always someone else.
“The Allies stormed into Germany. Two months later, on May 7, 1945, the Germans surrendered.
“I went back to civilian life. I ran into George Rittenhouse on the streets of New York a few times. We were polite, and he was always distant. He bothered me in the army, and he bothered me then.
“I called George Rittenhouse when I was 75 just to talk over old times. He was old, but he was the same. He didn’t want anything to do with me. But I gave him my phone number anyway.
Then, a Call Out of the Blue
“Then I had a call a year ago out of the blue from George’s daughter, Georgia. She was helping her own daughter research the exploits of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops for a school paper. Rittenhouse told her I was the expert and had given her my name and phone number.
“I sent her photos, articles from newspapers and the Smithsonian, everything I had. George’s daughter was fascinated with our story. When I talked to her, I let it out that I thought her father was a real son-of-a-bitch. I was 81 and I was still mad.
“Last summer, my wife and I went back to New York to visit friends. I knew where George lived. George’s daughter had invited us to visit, but I wasn’t sure about that. On impulse though, we did drop in. George’s wife Pat took one look at me and said “You must be Ed.” She gave me a big hug.
“Later, she took a photograph of George Rittenhouse and me. I’m looking at it now. We’re grinning with our arms around each other’s shoulders. That photo is going in the next newsletter.
“The guys aren’t going to believe it.”
Ed Biow passed away on July 19, 2016, at the age of 95.
George V. Rittenhouse passed away on November 24, 2006, at the age of 86.
Epilogue: Lieutenent George Rittenhouse’s Final Command
After a career as a chemical engineer in New York City, George Rittenhouse retired — and became the volunteer commander of the police force in his tiny home town on Long Island, NY. He said it was the best job he ever had.
Read More About the Ghost Army
To read more about The Ghost Army, visit my Ghost Army Gallery. There you will also find many more black-and-white photos from the war and the men who fought the Nazis with art — and the paintings inspired by these stark photographs.
