[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 109 (Thursday, June 27, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E859-E860]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                RECOGNIZING STAFF SERGEANT STANLEY NANCE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BEN McADAMS

                                of utah

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 27, 2019

  Mr. McADAMS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Staff Sergeant 
Stanley Nance.

[[Page E860]]

  In May 1944, 1,100 U.S. military men joined ranks to form what would 
be called ``the Ghost Army.''
  Composed largely of artists, this unit had unusual orders: not to 
avoid detection by enemy forces, but to actively attract attention 
through an ingenious optical illusion.
  One of them was Staff Sergeant Stanley Nance, signal Company Special 
of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops.
  The Ghost Army's tactics were to impersonate other Allied units, 
using inflatable tanks and jeeps made of sticks and burlap, to make the 
enemy believe that large factions of soldiers were on Omaha Beach and 
surrounding areas, after D-Day.
  Massive speakers were mounted to the back of military vehicles, 
blasting the ambient noises of a much larger unit. They sounded like 
they were coming from the battlefield, but in fact had been recorded 
months before in fort Knox, Kentucky.
  Kept a secret until 1985, the story of the Ghost Army and those in 
its ranks serves as a heroic tale of young Americans' bold actions to 
defend freedom.
  Decades later, Staff Sergeant Nance's great-granddaughter, Madeline 
Christianson, told his story through a history project, which recently 
won the World War II History Award at the National History Competition. 
Her project is an amazing re-creation of a story of skill, courage and 
triumph--unique in the annals of history.
  As we prepare to celebrate Independence Day 2019, we honor two 
extraordinary generations of Utahns--the soldier who helped defeat 
tyranny during World War II, and his great-granddaughter who is keeping 
the story of heroism alive.

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