Stanley Boyd Nance was born in Garfield, Utah in February 1918. He served in an Army Signal Company, 23rd Headquarters Special Troops and took part in operations in the European Theater. He had a wonderful life growing up and had a great family. He attended school and graduated high school in 1936. His father worked for the Utah Copper Company and his mother was a housewife. He grew up with three brothers and three sisters, all of whom treated him well. He was not aware of the economic turmoil of the country and his family endured the Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States] by supporting each other. His family lived on a 40-acre farm where they raised livestock and grew crops. His father taught him astronomy as a young boy and he had a great interest in pursuing that as a career when he grew up. His father also taught him about various world explorers, historical events, geography, and historical figures. Nance was aware of the rising hostilities in Europe and Japan in the early 1930s because of his father. They had a special relationship and were kindred spirits. Nance liked to play football, but he lived far from the football field and could not travel on foot and his parents did not have a car. His parents owned a horse and buggy and traveled to church in Sandy, Utah. He liked to swim and learned how to swim at a young age. When he was 19 years old, he was called to do a two-year mission in Tahiti [Annotator’s Note: Tahiti, French Polynesia] with his church.

When Stanley Boyd Nance was 19 years old, he was called to do a two-year mission in Tahiti [Annotator’s Note: Tahiti, French Polynesia] with his church. When he returned home, he married the woman he wanted to be with forever. When he entered the Army, the men would talk about their girlfriends and wives. One day they were bragging about whose girlfriend was the prettiest. They gathered the pictures that they had and spread them out on the table. Then they had the officer pick out their favorites. Nance’s wife won hands down. He heard about Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] while listening to the radio. He received most of the news through the radio his parents had at home. The breakout of war did not change his community very much. His reaction to Pearl Harbor was that he thought the Japanese stabbed the Americans in the back and he was not happy with the Japanese nation. Nance was drafted into the Army in October 1942 after he had been married in June 1942. While he was on his church mission trip, he received a draft notice wanting to know his status. After he returned from his mission, the draft board was all over to him. Nance did his best to avoid the draft, but was forced to have a physical. It was determined that he had flat feet, however that did not keep him from being drafted.

In the Fall 1942, Stanley Boyd Nance was drafted out of Salt Lake City [Annotator’s Note: Salt Lake City, Utah] and sent to Fort Polk, Louisiana to join the 11th Armored Division for eight weeks of basic training. Part of his training was an obstacle course, and he came in first place and broke the time record. He was then selected to train in Morse code and radio for nine weeks at Fort Knox [Annotator’s Note: Fort Knox, Kentucky]. On his last day of his training, he returned to his class room to clean his desk. One of the instructors came in and told him that he graduated with top honors. He was sent back to the 11th Armored Division and went on maneuvers until the military sent them to the California desert for desert training. His unit was slated for the North Africa campaign. While he was sitting in his half-track [Annotator's Note: M3 half-track; a vehicle with front wheels and rear tracks] one evening, someone in a jeep pulled up and told him to grab all his equipment and report to San Bernardino [Annotator’s Note: San Bernardino, California].

Stanley Boyd Nance was in California doing desert training until he was ordered to report to San Bernardino [Annotator’s Note: San Bernardino, California]. He arrived early one morning at a small barracks and an office. He was handed an envelope with a train ticket. Nance was annoyed that he was not given any more information. He boarded the train, and after several hours, the conductor came over and told him to get off at the next station. A man was waiting for him on the train platform and took him to Camp Forrest, Tennessee. He was taken to an auditorium where other men were waiting. Not too long later, a commander came in and began explaining that Nance and these men were chosen for a top secret organization whose goal was to confuse the enemy. For the next few days, Nance learned what his new mission was going to be and was constantly reminded of how the organization was classified. Nance admitted he was very confused about what the military was trying to do. After two weeks of training, he was given his own automobile and radio. He was trained in how to receive secret information and transmit it to the right authorities. Although he was part of this secret mission, he was still part of the 11th Armored Division.

Stanley Boyd Nance served with the 11th Armored Division and was selected to be part of a top secret organization called the Ghost Army, whose mission was to confuse the enemy. After top secret training in Camp Forrest [Annotator’s Note: Camp Forrest, Tennessee], Nance was sent to Camp Kilmer [Annotator’s Note: Camp Kilmer, New Jersey] for five days. He was able to go to New York City [Annotator’s Note: New York City, New York] and headed to the USO [Annotator's Note: United Service Organizations, Inc.] show. He met some Girl Scouts on the way who convinced him to go eat Chinese food and see a show. On his way overseas, there was a U-boat [Annotator's Note: German submarine] scare and the convoy ships had to drop depth charges [Annotator's Note: also called a depth bomb; an anti-submarine explosive munition resembling a metal barrel or drum]. His ship docked in Bristol, England and he reported to Misty Hall. He lived in a tent with the signal corps specialists. After about a week, his unit boarded a ship and crossed the English Channel to Cherbourg, France. He was assigned to a unit of the Ghost Army. There was a lot of chaos because the allies were fighting at Saint-Lô [Annotator’s Note: Saint-Lô, France].

Stanley Boyd Nance served with the 11th Armored Division and was selected to be part of a top secret organization, called the Ghost Army, whose mission was to confuse the enemy. He was sent to Saint-Lô, France to report for duty and was given a vehicle. [Annotator’s Note: Interviewer readjusts the microphone on interviewer at 1:17:39.000.] The first operation he was involved in with the Ghost Army was when he was assigned to go into the 4th Armored Division. He took over the radio. While the division moved into a wedge that was opened in the line, Nance replaced their positions with rubber tanks and other false equipment to fool the enemy. He had to mimic the commander of the 4th Division because the Germans were listening to the Allies’ radios, and Nance had to confuse them. He had to do everything that the commander did so that the Germans would not realize that Nance was not the commander. [Annotator’s Note: Video break at 1:25:52.000.] He stressed that the Germans used the radio and he had to be careful not disrupt the sequence so he could fool the Germans. After that mission, the military took his radio and never gave it back. That was the only mission he was assigned to that required him to use a radio.

Stanley Boyd Nance served with the 11th Armored Division and was selected to be part of a top secret organization called the Ghost Army whose mission was to confuse the enemy. Nance never had a “baptism by fire” and never had to oversee German prisoners. For seven months, he was alone in his vehicle traveling around France. He worked with the 1st Army and the 3rd Army. He also worked with Commander Bradley [Annotator's Note: US Army General Omar Nelson Bradley] towards the end of the war. Nance heard about the Holocaust [Annotator's Note: also called the Shoah; the genocide of European Jews during World War 2] as the war progressed, but he was never involved in the liberation of the Jews. He thought the Germans were a bunch of cowards and did not care about life. Nance was 10 miles from the Russian front when the war in Europe came to an end [Annotator's Note: Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945]. He did not get involved in any celebrations. The Ghost Army was given instructions to go to Japan.

Stanley Boyd Nance served with the 11th Armored Division and was selected to be part of a top secret organization, called the Ghost Army, whose mission was to confuse the enemy. He worked with the 1st Army and worked out of his vehicle sending messages throughout France. One day he drove into an apple orchard and came to a farmhouse. He saw a Frenchman working in his yard, so he started a conversation with him. The Frenchman invited Nance into his house and Nance was amazed by how big his kitchen was. Nance asked the man for a drink of milk because he had not had milk in a long time. The man brought out a World War 1 [Annotator's Note: World War 1, global war originating in Europe; 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918] uniform and took a medal off the uniform and gave it to Nance. When Nance returned to the United States, he used the G.I. Bill [Annotator's Note: the G.I. Bill, or Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was enacted by the United States Congress to aid United States veterans of World War 2 in transitioning back to civilian life and included financial aid for education, mortgages, business starts and unemployment] to buy a home for his wife and kids. He became a real estate agent after the war. He and his wife had 14 children together. One of his sons was killed in the Vietnam War [Annotator's Note: Vietnam War, or Second Indochina War, 1 November 1955 to 30 April 1975].

Stanley Boyd Nance believes there should be institutions like the National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and that we should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations. He loved the movie. He thinks that the Museum should be in Utah because they celebrate the Ghost Army in October every year. He was at the Museum for the Ghost Army exhibit and was taken aback by the whole experience. He feels so great to have been a part of it. He wants to tell future generations to honor the American flag and keep faith in what it stands for. He talked about two little girls in a bombed-out town in Germany. They were walking up and down clay mounds looking for things. One of the girls came to him and he saw that she was carrying a rag doll without a hand. He broke down and could not believe her innocence and what Hitler [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler] had done to her.