William Henry Baumer; Key Eisenhower Aide

William Henry Baumer, 79, retired Army major general, who, in conjunction with the Soviets, helped deceive the German military in the days before the invasion of Europe in June, 1944. It fell to Baumer, who served on the staff of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, to persuade the Germans by various ploys that the Allies would not invade France until July. That was to be after the Soviets had supposedly launched a major offensive on the eastern front. The deception, carried out with the cooperation of British and Soviet secret agents, caused the Nazis to keep their troops deployed on both fronts, helping assure the success of the Normandy landings. After retiring from active duty in 1950, Baumer became a business executive and consultant for the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical company and was most recently a senior partner with Centurion Capital Inc. in Santa Ana. In the private sector, he concentrated in motivating employees to take part in public affairs and wrote several books on the subject. En route to Los Angeles from Washington on Tuesdayof heart failure.