Remarkable role of top-secret unit in World War II remained classified for more than forty years
Washington (March 21, 2016) – Massachusetts Senators Edward J. Markey and Elizabeth Warren last week introduced the Ghost Army Congressional Gold Medal Act (S.2730) to honor the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, also called the “Ghost Army”, which was a top-secret unit of the United States Army that served in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. Often operating on or near the front lines, the Ghost Army used inflatable tanks, artillery, air planes 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. 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. 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. 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. According to a Boston Globe story, approximately 40 veterans of the Ghost Army survive.
“After 70 years since the end of World War II, we must honor the Ghost Army for the remarkable patriots that they were,” said Senator Markey. “Their actions contributed to many Allied victories, including the Battle of the Bulge and the crossing of the Rhine River. Their tactics were meant to be invisible, but their contributions are as lasting as any of the Greatest Generation. It is time the Ghost Army’s heroics come out of the shadows and we honor them with the light that gleams from the Congressional Gold Medal.”
“I was surprised that Senator Ed Markey informed me that the members of the Congress were contemplating a congressional gold medal for those of us who served in the Ghost Army during World War II,” said Jack McGlynn of Medford, Massachusetts, a member of 3132 Signal Company, a division of the Ghost Army handling sonic deception. “I can assure you that none of us volunteered because of a hope of receiving a medal, but rather we volunteered to fight to protect the freedoms that our family, friends, and coworkers here in the United States enjoyed because of the sacrifices of the veterans that came before us in previous wars. Our reward is the satisfaction of knowing that we helped to liberate Europe and the smiles on the faces of those we liberated. I am grateful to all of the members of Congress for their efforts on behalf of the Ghost Army.”
“These guys weren’t textbook heroes, but they put themselves on the front lines to divert the enemy fire away from their fellow soldiers,” said Rick Beyer, director of the documentary 'The Ghost Army', which aired on PBS in 2013. “Their creativity saved countless American lives. That strikes me as something worth honoring. Senator Markey's enthusiasm in introducing this legislation in the Senate sends a message of respect to Ghost Army veterans - their numbers are fewer and fewer each year, so the sense of urgency is real.”
A copy of the Ghost Army Congressional Gold Medal Act can be found HERE.
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