The 23rd consisted of roughly 1,100 men, but they were capable of duping the enemy into thinking they were a force of 30,000, according to the museum. To impersonate another larger US Army unit, they did things like sew fake patches onto their uniforms and paint false markings on their vehicles, according to the bill.
And in Italy in April 1945, the 3133rd Signal Service Company used “sonic deception” to misrepresent where Allied troops were located on the German defense line, which involved blasting prerecorded sounds to mimic Army units’ movements at night.
In its final mission, “Operation Viersen,” in March 1945, the 23rd devised a plan that sought to pull Germans away from the US Ninth Army, which was attempting to cross the Rhine River into Germany. The 23rd pretended to be two full divisions of US forces using “fabricated radio networks, soundtracks of construction work and artillery fire, and hundreds of inflatable and real vehicles,” the legislation said.
A long-kept secret
Long after the war ended, the Ghost Army and its heroism in World War II were kept secret. In 1996, a history of the unit documented by a former member was declassified, according to the Ghost Army Legacy Project.
Rep. Annie Kuster, who’s introduced the bill in every Congress since 2015, said that “more than 75 years after defeating fascism in Europe, it’s time these soldiers receive the highest honor we can award: the Congressional Gold Medal.”
“Through their courageous, creative, and innovative tactics, the top-secret Ghost Army outmaneuvered and deceived the Nazis, saving thousands of Allied lives during World War II,” the New Hampshire Democrat added.
Ghost Army veteran Bernie Bluestein, 98, called it “an honor” to be awarded the medal.
“I never in my lifetime expected anything like this, it completely blasts me. I’m just sorry that there are not more of my fellow soldiers still alive that can be enjoying this as much as I do,” he said in a statement provided by the Ghost Army Legacy Project.
Rick Beyer, the president of the Ghost Army Legacy Project, who also produced a documentary and co-authored a book about the unit, reflected on the honor, saying in a statement: “Armed with their wits and guile these men saved lives and helped win the war.”
According to the project, there are nine surviving veterans of the Ghost Army, including Bluestein: Bill Anderson, 97, of Kent, Ohio; John Christman, 97, of Leesburg, New Jersey; George Dramis, 97, of Raleigh, North Carolina; Manny Frockt, 97, of West Palm Beach, Florida; Nick Leo, 99, of Brentwood, New York; Mark Mallardi, 98, of Edgewater, Florida; Bill Nall, 97, of Dunellon, Florida; and Seymour Nussenbaum, 98, of Monroe Township, New Jersey.
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