Three U.S. veterans who served during World War II in a secret unit known as the Ghost Army that used inflatable tanks and sound effects to fool their enemies were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
ByThree U.S. veterans who served during World War II in a secret unit known as the Ghost Army were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.With inflatable tanks, radio trickery, costume uniforms and acting, the American military units that became known as the Ghost Army outwitted the enemy during World War II. Their mission was kept secret for decades, but on Thursday the group stepped out of the shadows as they were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal at a ceremony in Washington.
Their work during the war "was like putting on a big production," Nussenbaum said in an interview before the ceremony. "Our mission was to fool the enemy, to put on a big act," said Nussenbaum, a painter who went on to a career in commercial art. "They put themselves in harm's way wielding imagination, bravado and creativity in order that other soldiers might be able to fight and live," Beyer told those gathered Thursday.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.
"This was an all-hands-on-deck affair and it was completely successful," Beyer said. "It fooled the Germans. They moved their troops to the river opposite where the deception was."
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