‘In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies.’

–Winston Churchill

I doubt that I will ever again agree with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on anything. Mr. Jeffries began his salute to members of the United States Ghost Army of World War II with the Churchill quote and there couldn’t be a more perfect tribute to the art of war in this instance. Today, they received their due with the Congressional Gold Medal.

You’ve never heard of the Ghost Army, you say? Probably because their heroics were not declassified until 1996 and government schools don’t teach World War II or, indeed, history anymore. From CBS:

Members of the Ghost Army, a top-secret military unit credited with saving thousands of Americans during World War II using distraction techniques, are receiving Congressional Gold Medals on Thursday.

The unit was tasked with deceiving the Germans. Using inflatable tanks and artillery, along with soundtracks, they tricked adversaries into thinking that Allied forces were in one location, while they advanced elsewhere. The effort, made up of a group of artists, designers, audio technicians and others, resulted in an estimated 30,000 American lives saved, and remained classified for decades after the war ended.

President Biden signed legislation honoring the service members into law in 2022, noting in a statement “their unique and highly distinguished service in conducting deception operations in Europe during World War II.”

Well deserved for the Veterans of the Ghost Army. Modern Psychological Operations traces its origins to the efforts of these heroes who played such a pivotal role in WWII. https://t.co/2RRbMjGJMt

— 1st Special Forces Command (@1st_SF_Command) March 20, 2024

More details from the AP:

Three of the seven known surviving members are set to attend the ceremony at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, including 100-year-old Seymour Nussenbaum of Monroe Township, New Jersey. Bernard Bluestein, 100, of Hoffman Estates, Illinois, and John Christman, 99, of Leesburg, New Jersey, are also set to attend.

“It was like putting on a big production,” Nussenbaum said. “We have had in some cases people impersonating generals, putting on a general’s uniform and walking around the streets.”

Nussenbaum, who grew up in New York City, was studying art at the Pratt Institute before he was drafted and eventually joined a unit specializing in camouflage that was part of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops.

The legislation to honor the military units with the Congressional Gold Medal — Congress’ highest honor — was signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022. That came after almost a decade of work by family members of the soldiers and Rick Beyer, a filmmaker and author who has who helped bring their story to light after their mission was declassified in 1996. Beyer, president of the the Ghost Army Legacy Project, produced and directed the 2013 documentary “The Ghost Army” and co-authored the 2015 book “The Ghost Army of World War II.”

“I just want to make sure it’s not forgotten,” Beyer said. “I think it’s a great use of ingenuity, creativity on the battlefield.”

The Ghost Army included about 1,100 soldiers in the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, which carried out about 20 battlefield deceptions in France, Luxembourg, Belgium and Germany, and around 200 soldiers in the 3133rd Signal Company Special, which carried out two deceptions in Italy.

The Ghost Army Soldiers landed at Omaha Beach and were at Bastogne, too:

In one 1945 mission, dubbed Operation Viersen, members of the Ghost Army successfully tricked the Germans into believing that two divisions – 40,000 men – were set to cross the Rhine river 10 miles (16km) from the actual crossing point.https://t.co/yaMEujv4ub

— Bernd Debusmann Jr (@BernieDebusmann) March 21, 2024

They had actors pretending to be officers, kind of like today:

Operation Viersen was one of the Ghost Army’s biggest missions. In March 1945, the group drew German units away from a point on the Rhine River using “hundreds of inflatables” and sound trucks that operated for multiple nights. Fake headquarters were set up with officers “who were pretending to be colonels,” The Associated Press reported.

It was a great ceremony honoring these heroes. Well worth watching all the way through, although the ceremony doesn’t start until the one hour mark:

We would be remiss if we didn’t mention General George S. Patton:

Recruited from advertising agencies, communications companies and art schools — through vaguely worded notices seeking creative candidates for noncombat camouflage battalions — the Ghost Army hoodwinked the Germans about the location of Gen. George S. Patton Jr.’s Third Army as it swept eastward across France during the summer of 1944. The Americans fooled Nazis’ eyes by deploying fleets of inflatable rubber tanks, trucks and airplanes, and tricked their ears by broadcasting phony radio chatter and playing prerecorded soundtracks of troop exercises from 500-pound loudspeakers.

If you’d like more information, you can watch a documentary here.

Thank you for your service to all the Ghost Army soldiers.

Featured Image: Rob Corder/flickr.com/cropped/Creative Commons