[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2170 Introduced in House (IH)]
114th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2170
To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the 23rd Headquarters Special
Troops, known as the ``Ghost Army'', collectively, in recognition of
its unique and incredible service during World War II.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 30, 2015
Ms. Kuster (for herself and Mr. King of New York) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial
Services, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
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A BILL
To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the 23rd Headquarters Special
Troops, known as the ``Ghost Army'', collectively, in recognition of
its unique and incredible service during World War II.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Ghost Army Congressional Gold Medal
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The 23rd Headquarters Special Troops (the ``Ghost
Army'') was a top-secret unit of the United States Army that
served in the European Theater of Operations during World War
II.
(2) The unit was actively engaged in battlefield operations
from June of 1944 through March of 1945.
(3) The deceptive activities of the Ghost Army were
essential to several Allied victories across Europe and are
estimated to have saved thousands of lives.
(4) In evaluating the performance of the Ghost Army after
the War, a U.S. Army analysis found that ``Rarely, if ever, has
there been a group of such a few men which had so great an
influence on the outcome of a major military campaign.''.
(5) Many Ghost Army soldiers were specially selected for
their mission, and were recruited from art schools, advertising
agencies, communications companies, and other creative and
technical professions.
(6) The first four members of the Ghost Army landed on D-
Day and two became casualties while camouflaging early beach
installations.
(7) The Ghost Army's secret deception operations commenced
in France on June 14, 1944, when Task Force Mason landed at
Omaha Beach to draw enemy fire and protect the 980th Artillery
for 28 days.
(8) Task Force Mason was a prelude to 21 full-scale
tactical deceptions completed by the Ghost Army.
(9) Often operating on or near the front lines, the Ghost
Army used inflatable tanks, artillery, airplanes and other
vehicles, advanced engineered soundtracks, and skillfully
crafted radio trickery to create the illusion of sizable
American forces where there were none and to draw the enemy
away from Allied troops.
(10) Ghost Army soldiers impersonated other, larger Army
units by sewing counterfeit patches onto their uniforms,
painting false markings on their vehicles, and creating phony
headquarters staffed by fake generals, all in an effort to feed
false information to Axis spies.
(11) During the Battle of the Bulge, the Ghost Army created
counterfeit radio traffic to mask the efforts of General George
Patton's Third Army as it mobilized to break through to the
101st Airborne and elements of 10th Armored Division in the
besieged Belgian town of Bastogne.
(12) In its final mission, Operation Viersen, the Ghost
Army deployed a tactical deception that drew German units down
the Rhine River and away from the 9th Army, allowing the 9th
Army to cross the Rhine into Germany. On this mission, the
1,100 men of the Ghost Army, with the assistance of other
units, impersonated forty thousand men, or two complete
divisions of American forces, by using fabricated radio
networks, soundtracks of construction work and artillery fire,
and more than 600 inflatable vehicles.
(13) Three Ghost Army soldiers gave their lives and dozens
were injured in carrying out their mission.
(14) The activities of the Ghost Army remained classified
for more than forty years after the war and the extraordinary
accomplishments of this unit are deserving of belated
recognition.
(15) The United States will be eternally grateful to the
Ghost Army for their proficient use of innovative tactics
throughout World War II, which saved thousands of lives and
were instrumental in the defeat of Nazi Germany.
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
(a) Award Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of Representatives
and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate
arrangements for the award, on behalf of the Congress, of a gold medal
of appropriate design to the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, known as
the ``Ghost Army'', collectively, in recognition of its unique and
incredible service during World War II.
(b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes of the award referred to
in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (in this Act referred
to as the ``Secretary'') shall strike the gold medal with suitable
emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary.
(c) Smithsonian Institution.--
(1) In general.--Following the award of the gold medal in
honor of the Ghost Army, the gold medal shall be given to the
Smithsonian Institution, where it will be available for display
as appropriate and available for research.
(2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of the Congress
that the Smithsonian Institution should make the gold medal
awarded pursuant to this Act available for display elsewhere,
particularly at appropriate locations associated with the Ghost
Army, and that preference should be given to locations
affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution.
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold
medal struck under section 3, at a price sufficient to cover the costs
of the medal, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and
overhead expenses.
SEC. 5. NATIONAL MEDALS.
Medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals for purposes
of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
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