Soldiers from America’s legendary World War II “Ghost Army” were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal on Thursday, 80 years after their military exploits. roll A call has been reported.
high honor
Watch as a veteran of the Ghost Army, a top-secret World War II unit that used ingenious deception to deceive its enemies, receives the Congressional Gold Medal for the unit’s unique and extraordinary achievements. please. #U.S. Forces service. https://t.co/XdGL8s8Zde
— United States Army (@USAarmy) March 21, 2024
According to roll call, only seven of the 1,000 soldiers who made up the secret army are still alive. Three of them, Bernard Bluestein, John Christman, and Seymour Nussenbaum, were able to attend the ceremony. The men were called to the stage by House Speaker Mike Johnson, received a standing ovation, and were awarded Congress’ highest civilian honor, the newspaper reported.
Several hundred people attended the ceremony, mostly families of Ghost Army veterans and other service members. according to For roll call. (Related: High school apologizes after asking students to remove American flag from truck)
The Ghost Army, comprised of the 23rd Headquarters Special Forces and the 3133rd Signal Service Company, is said to have carried out more than 20 operations during World War II to trick German forces into expecting attacks in the wrong locations. Roll call was reported.by National World War II MuseumThe Ghost Army’s weapons included “inflatable tanks and vehicles, fake radio communications, sound effects, and even fake generals.”
The group’s activities were declassified in 1996 and gained widespread notoriety after the release of the 2013 documentary “Ghost Army,” the paper said.
“When the soldiers of the Ghost Army landed on Omaha Beach, when they were assembling inflatables in the rain near the front lines in Brest, when they were freezing in the snow in Bastogne, or when the lines of Italian Gothic That’s what they must have thought when they were setting fire to this unit. Not a single soldier in this unit considered himself a hero, and 80 years later, a grateful nation would “I was struck by the idea that they would have honored them like that,” said Rick Beyer, documentary director and director of Ghost Army. Legacy Project, according to the paper. (Related: VA reportedly told veteran Marine he would have to repay more than $100,000)
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said at the ceremony that his father served under General George Patton and ultimately returned despite suffering heavy casualties.
“I’m thinking about how these stories are intertwined,” McConnell said, according to the newspaper. “In the words of a Ghost Army veteran, his unit was all about ‘saving one mother and one new wife from the pain of putting a gold star on her front window.’ is.”
