The Ghost Army Honored with Congressional Gold Medal
T op secret for fifty years, the brilliant exploits of two special units —the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops and the 3133rd Signal Service Company—played a pivotal role in securing victory for the Allied forces in WWII. And, they did it all without guns, tanks or airplanes! They were known as the “Ghost Army.”
According to the National World War II Museum website (https://www.nationalww2museum.org) the “Ghost Army” “was the first mobile, multimedia, tactical deception unit in US Army history.”
Deception. That was their mission. Under the leadership of the seasoned Army veteran Colonel Harry L. Reeder, the unit, consisting of 82 officers and over 1,000 men, displayed remarkable bravery using these unconventional tactics often drawing fire away from their fellow soldiers.
These men, with their ingenious ‘deceptions,’ could convince opposing forces that they were over 30,000 strong! They executed more than 20 operations during WW II in France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany, and Italy. Once the war was over, they were sworn to secrecy.
Finally, after many years, the “Ghost Army” received the highest honor bestowed by Congress—the Medal of Freedom. In a ceremony in Emancipation Hall at the Capital in Washington, three remaining “ghosts” joined dignitaries, family, and friends for this very special honor.
THE LEXINGTON CONNECTION
Former Lexington resident Rick Beyer became fascinated with the Ghost Army after the records were declassified in 1996. He spent many years making a documentary about their missions. During that time, he befriended the remaining seven soldiers and authored a book “Artists of Deception: The Ghost Army of World War II,” as a companion to the documentary.
The show aired on PBS and can be seen on YouTube and Beyers’s website.
THE GHOST ARMY
In a phone interview from his new home in Chicago, Beyer reflected on his experience making the documentary and getting to know these vets, as well as the fulfilling experience of seeing them honored for their service.
The brainchild of Colonel Billy Harris and Major Ralph Ingersoll, American military planners based in London, the unit was a melting pot of talent—artists, engineers, professional soldiers, and draftees, including renowned figures such as fashion designer Bill Blass, painter Ellsworth Kelly, and photographer Art Kane.
“So, these two guys are working together,” Beyer says of Harris and Ingersoll, “and they dream up this idea of the Ghost Army. And I think they really were both critical to it working out. Ingersoll was the pie-in-the-sky guy, and Harris was the feet-on-the-ground, how-do-we-make-this-work guy. And the two of them together developed it and presented it, and it got approved. I think it was Christmas Eve 1943 that it was officially approved.”
“I mean, these two guys were already involved in coordinating the American end of “Operation Fortitude,” the big D-Day Deception. Their whole mission was tasked with how to use deception as a force multiplier and to use that to be able to give us an advantage over the Germans. So, I don’t think it was too far out of their bailiwick, and deception had been used by the British. I think that they probably pointed to what the British did and said, ‘Look, it’s worked for these guys. We ought to have the same tools, or maybe we can even do it better.’ And I think they did do it better.”
These young soldiers were trained to use deceptive sound effects that were broadcast from huge mobile units mimicking the sounds of many tanks, engines, and airplanes. Inflatable tanks and planes were employed to deceive the enemy scouting from the air. You may remember one of the inflatable tanks that Beyer brought out on Lexington Green on Patriots Day!
“The basis of all deception,” Beyer explains, “is you start with—what do you want to get the enemy to do? And then what’s going to convince them to do that? What’s the story that you’re going to tell them that’s going to convince them to do that? And then you’re trying to transmit that story through all these means of deception that you have. It’s fascinating.
“They would set up phony headquarters and they would impersonate generals, colonels. They would have somebody who was the captain or a major put on the higher-ranking stars in their uniform, put the vehicle markings on their jeep, drive around, set up a headquarters, and walk in and out of the headquarters. All of that, just in case the enemy has left any spies behind.”
“Then they would mount a multi-media show tailored to that deception. Painstakingly recorded sounds of armored and infantry units were blasted from sound trucks; radio operators created phony traffic nets; and inflatable tanks, artillery, and even airplanes were imperfectly camouflaged so they would be visible to enemy reconnaissance, often operating dangerously close to the front lines.”
Beyers tells a funny story about Bernie Bluestein who lives in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, and is 100 years old. “Bernie saw a notice at the Cleveland Art Institute where he was studying that said they’re looking for artists for this camouflage unit. He saw it on the bulletin board and said, ‘Oh, I want to do that because that’ll keep me away from the front lines. I don’t want to be a fighting soldier on the front lines.’” Most of the Ghost Army operations were carried out very close to the front lines!
The Ghost Army Legacy Project
Beyers has become a champion for the unit and an ambassador for their tremendous contributions to the Allied cause. In 2016, he started a nonprofit dedicated to their contributions and legacy: The Ghost Army Legacy Project. Lexington resident Carla Fortmann is the Treasurer for the group.
Their latest effort, lobbying the government to award the unit a Congressional Gold Medal is their greatest accomplishment to date.
“Way, way back in 2015, I thought, ‘Wow, I would really like to see these guys be honored officially,’ because they’ve never gotten that because of the secrecy. I actually got the idea to do the Congressional Gold Medal, and I called Annie (Beyer attended college with Congresswoman Annie Kuster (D) of New Hampshire), who I didn’t really know well, but I knew, and she agreed to do it. Her dad was a veteran, and he was a pilot.” Kuster became the bill’s first sponsor. As the daughter of a WWII veteran who spent six months in a German POW camp, she was sympathetic to the cause.
Beyer laughs when he says that neither he nor Representative Kuster had any idea what it would take! But seven years later, they were pleased to stand with several of the original soldiers as they were honored with the award before hundreds of family members, friends, and dignitaries in attendance.
The Gold Medal Ceremony
“It had to pass both houses of Congress, and then the president signed it. And then the reason it’s been two years since that happened is because it’s a custom-designed medal. So there’s a whole design process, then there’s an approval process, then there’s an engraving process, and they produce one medal. It’s a gold medal, and it’s got, I don’t know, let’s say $50,000 worth of gold in it. I’ve heard that figure, it might be true. And they had a lot of guards around it in Washington!”
The nine-year effort culminated in March when three of the seven known surviving members: Bernard Bluestein, 100, of Hoffman Estates, Illinois; John Christman, 99, of Leesburg, New Jersey; and Seymour Nussenbaum, 100, of Monroe Township, New Jersey joined together at Emancipation Hall.
House Speaker Mike Johnson officiated the event and, in his opening remarks referenced the declassified report written to describe the work of the Ghost Army and read from it—”Rarely, if ever, has there existed a group of such few men which had so great an influence on the outcome of a major military campaign.” That’s really something, really something.” Because of their work, Speaker Johnson said, that it’s estimated that between 15,000 to 30,000 lives were saved.
U.S. Congressman Ed Markey commented, “They were creative original thinkers who used engineering, art, architecture, and advertising to wage battle with the enemy. Their weapons were unconventional, but their patriotism was unquestionable. And, after the war was won, veterans of the Ghost Army return home and use their undeniable talents to contribute to their communities and our country as public servants, authors and engineers. One of those veterans was my friend, the late Jack McGlynn of Medford, Massachusetts.” It turns out that Markey served with McGlynn, who became the Mayor of Medford, in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. So, my colleagues and I introduced the legislation to recognize and honor the Ghost Army with colleagues from both sides of the aisle and from both chambers. And that same bipartisanship is here today. It’s no small feat to get all these congressional leaders in this room together smiling and in agreement.”
The room exploded in laughter.
Congresswoman Ann Kuster from NH said, “During World War II, as the Nazis marched through Europe, the men of the top-secret Ghost Army were given an assignment: deceive the Germans and create an opportunity for the Allied Forces to turn the tide of the war… the Ghost Army made it appear as if there were thousands of combat troops when there were really none. The Ghost Army saved tens of thousands of Allied lives thanks to their ingenuity and boldness. These men are heroes, and although it’s long overdue, their service is finally being recognized.”
“It has been 80 years since the Ghost Army landed in France, 19 years since I came to this story, nine years that I’ve been working on the gold medal,” said Rick Beyer, president of the nonprofit Ghost Army Legacy Project. “This is a day that has been a long time coming. But it has been well worth the wait, right?
Beyer’s remarks were met with cheers. He went on to thank Senators Markey and Susan Collins and Representatives Chris Stewart and Annie Custer, who took the lead as sponsors of the bill. Eventually the bill had 370 representatives and senators signed on to it.
Christine Elizabeth Wormuth, US Secretary of the army ended the ceremony with fascinating comments, saying “Many of the techniques that you all pioneered can still be found on the battlefield today. And even though technology has changed quite a bit since 1944, our modern techniques build on a lot of what the Ghost Army did. And we are still learning from your legacy. Our experience observing the war in Ukraine has shown us that even with an increasingly transparent battlefield, military deception can still have a significant impact on military operations. And like so many soldiers serving today, the Ghost Army did not seek out credit for all that it had done. Their dedication, in fact, to preserving the secrecy of the unit long after the war is a testament to their loyalty and commitment to the nation.”
ghostarmy.org (to find out about the unit)
ghostarmy.com (Info on book, documentary, tours, etc.)