Elmer Mellebrand

PFC in 603rd Engineer Camouflage Bn : Co A

ASN#36570691

Born 1922 in MI, Died 2011

Artist

Other residence(s): Detroit, MI; Bloomfield Hills, MI

United States Army, European Theatre of Operations

Occupation before the war: student

College education before the war: Pratt

College education after the war: Pratt

Source: Travel Orders, 23d HQ, 29 August 1945; Ghost Army roster by state; Bernie Mason Company A, B, D Roster; 603rd roster in Seymour Nussenbaum's scrapbook, June 1943

Elmer Mellebrand was born on October 29, 1922 in Detroit, MI; his father owned a neighborhood grocery store in Hamtramck. Both of his parents had been born in Poland.

He studied commercial art at Cass Technical High School in Detroit, graduating in 1941. He met his future wife, Carol Winifred Nelson, there; she was attending with a focus on fashion design. Elmer went on to study art at Pratt (along with at least three dozen other eventual members of the Ghost Army) and Carol also pursued her fashion studies in New York City.

Elmer had just finished his first year at Pratt when he registered for the draft on June 30, 1942. He enlisted on February 15, 1943, having been told that the Army was looking for artists, and that he might do better if he volunteered than if he waited to be called up. Like many of his fellow art students, he was assigned to the 603rd Engineer Camouflage Battalion.

Elmer Mellebrand (right) and Ellsworth Kelly in 1943; courtesy Kris Mellebrand

In a 2010 interview, Elmer talked at length about his experiences in the unit. In that first year, they believed that they would not go overseas, but would serve as instructors or demonstrators of camouflage techniques. When they did head overseas, and camped out in tents at Walton Hall in England, Elmer took a dislike to camping. "I promised myself that if I ever got back into civilian life I'd never camp again. . . . I never have."

Elmer reported that he carried a bazooka, though "I couldn't hit the side of a barn if I had to. . . . I was a camoufleur, a bazooka man, an assistant truck driver—whatever else was needed. We were so small a unit—we did everything."

A sketch of Elmer by fellow Ghost Army soldier Ellsworth Kelly; courtesy Kris Mellebrand

After the liberation of Paris in August, 1944, Elmer's friend Bill Griswold (who spoke fluent French) got himself into Paris disguised as a free French fighter, and was sketching Notre Dame Cathedral when he met Pablo Picasso. Bill visited Picasso's studio, and promised Elmer that he would bring him to meet Picasso on a visit the following week. When they returned to Picasso's studio, the caretaker there told them that Picasso was planning on attending a party held by the Vicomtesse Marie-Laure de Noialles, and that they should meet him at her mansion. According to Elmer, they drank some good French wine and ate Army hardtack at the party, but Picasso never showed up. At the end of the party, Elmer told the Vicomtesse that he wanted to buy some French perfume for his mother and she offered her carriage, horse, and driver to take them to the store. But the MPs caught them before they went into the store and shooed them out of the city.*

After the end of the war, Elmer's Polish language skills served the unit in good stead when he became the unofficial interpreter between his captain and the Polish residents of the displaced persons camp where the unit was stationed.

After returning to the states, Elmer went back to New York City and Pratt, earning his certificate in advertising design, with honors, in 1947. He returned to Detroit, where there were lots of big advertising agencies supported by the automotive industry, and went to work as a commercial artist. He and Carol married on July 10, 1949. In 1950 they were living in Detroit; she was working as a fitter of women's apparel in a department store.

Elmer and Carol would go on to have two children: Kristine and Kent. In 1956 they built a home in Bloomfield Hills, MI where they lived for the rest of their lives.

Elmer worked for several years as an art director on the Pontiac/Cadillac account for McManus John & Adams. After that he went to work for the Campbell Ewald agency—though he reports that by that time he had had enough of car advertising and instead became the art director for the Rockwell International account.

Part of Elmer's campaign for the Space Shuttle for Rockwell International

He was most proud of an ad campaign he created for the launch of the first Space Shuttle—a campaign deemed by Rockwell as the "most successful Rockwell ad campaign in history." Throughout his long and successful career at Campbell Ewald, he was an admired mentor to the young creatives with whom he worked.

Near the end of his career he did freelance artwork for Brogan Kabot Communications. He also played the role of the owner's dad for a Brogan Kabot series of wacky newspaper and TV ads about a fictional family purportedly behind RJ Leeds Furniture Store.

Elmer enjoyed car racing (SCCA and Nascar) and gardening. His eulogy reports that he "worked outside constantly, hewing, planting, grading, coaxing, and nurturing their hillside home." After his retirement, he began to sculpt in wood and stone, mainly animals. He created hundreds of sculptural pieces, and many of them were presented to friends as gifts. He and Carol also traveled extensively, including trips to Greece, Italy, and Scandinavia. With a group of friends known as "The Six-Pack" they visited many historic sites in the US. With their children they traveled to the 1962 World's Fair in Seattle, WA, and Expo 67 in Montreal, Canada. As a family they enjoyed all the arts—going to museums, concerts, art fairs, and the theater.

Elmer died on August 5, 2011 in Bloomfield Hills, MI, and is buried at Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly, MI.

*Ellsworth Kelly and Arthur Singer both told versions of the story of Griswold meeting Picasso; see the Bill Griswold biography on this site for more details.