[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 58 (Friday, April 5, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E306]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     HONORING ALVIN JOSEPH PICARD, VETERAN OF THE GHOST ARMY, FOR 
             RECOGNITION WITH THE CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL

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                           HON. CLAY HIGGINS

                              of louisiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, April 5, 2024

  Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Mr. Alvin 
Joseph Picard, a son of South Louisiana who by nature of his service in 
World War II has been recognized with the Congressional Gold Medal--the 
highest expression of national appreciation through Congress.
  Mr. Picard was a native of Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, born on 
December 9, 1919. He grew up amid the Depression and reached adulthood 
at a time of national crisis. When America entered the Second World 
War, Mr. Picard enlisted in the United States Army. He held the rank of 
Technician Fifth Grade with Signal Company of the 23rd Headquarters 
Special Troops. This top-secret unit is now known fondly as the ``Ghost 
Army.'' The 1,100-man unit was assigned a critical task: to mask and 
misrepresent the whereabouts, trajectory, and strength of Allied forces 
in Nazi-occupied France.
  Operating in the European theater, the Ghost Army was engaged in 
battlefield operations beginning in June of 1944. The unit's deception 
strategies were critical to many Allied victories across Europe, 
including the D-Day landings. As a Cryptographic Technician in Signal 
Company, Mr. Picard employed ``spoof radio'' to confuse Axis forces and 
conceal the movements of other Allied troops. His efforts and those of 
others in the Ghost Army saved countless American lives.
  Thirty years after the war, a U.S. Army report noted: ``rarely, if 
ever, has there existed a group of such few men, which had so great an 
influence on the outcome of a major military campaign.'' While aiding 
the victory in Europe, the Ghost Army also laid the foundation for 
modern defense strategies, on which our national security depends. As 
we confront present threats in psychological, cyber, and information 
warfare, the legacy of the Ghost Army and soldiers like Mr. Picard 
endures.
  Although the Congressional Gold Medal reaches Mr. Picard 
posthumously, he is survived by a grateful family, community, and 
country. On behalf of Louisiana's 3rd District, I thank Mr. Picard for 
his service. May God bless his family and his Veteran Brothers of the 
Ghost Army.

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