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Bipartisan Bill to Honor WWII Ghost Army Receives Necessary 67Th Co-Sponsor in the Senate
Wednesday, November 17, 2021
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The campaign to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the Ghost Army is in the homestretch. This week, bill S 1404 received its 67th co-sponsor, the number required to bring it up for a vote. Senator Catherine Cortez-Masto was the 67th Co-sponsor.
Introduced by Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), the bill will now move to passage in the full Senate.
The existence of the Ghost Army was top secret for more than 50 years until it was declassified in 1996. That’s when the public first learned of the creative, daring techniques the Ghost Army employed to fool and distract the enemy about the strength and location of American troops, including the use of inflatable tanks, sound effects, radio trickery and impersonation.
The 23rd Headquarters Special Troops staged more than 20 deception operations, often dangerously close to the front lines, in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany. They have been called “a traveling road show of deception,” a unit of only 1,100 troops looking and sounding like more than 20,000. They are credited with saving an estimated 30,000 American lives.
The Congressional Gold Medal is Congress's utmost expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions. Dating back to the American Revolution, The Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom are the highest civilian awards in the United States.