Top-Secret ‘Ghost Army’ WWII Unit Receives Congressional Gold Medal

• Three veterans from a World War II unit specializing in deception were honored by Congress.
• They’re part of the seven surviving members of the “Ghost Army” unit.
• They used inflatable tanks, radio signals, and costumes to impersonate fighting forces.

Veterans of a top-secret World War II unit that used inflatables and fake soundtracks to feed phony intelligence to Nazi Germany were given the congressional Gold Medal on Thursday.

The work of the “Ghost Army” unit, comprising the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops and 3133rd Signal Service Company, is believed to have saved the lives of up to 30,000 men as the Allies pushed deeper into Europe.

The unit of about 1,300 soldiers ran more than 20 missions to create false troop movements and signs of impending assault that led German officers to believe US forces were attacking in the wrong locations.

But their deeds were shrouded in secrecy for decades until their declassification in 1996, and even then they “received minimal recognition,” said a congressional bill passed in 2022 to commemorate the veterans.

The awarding of the Congressional Gold Medal — the highest honor bestowed by Congress — comes after a 10-year push to better acknowledge the unit, sparked by a 2013 PBS documentary about their feats.

Three veterans from the unit, Bernard Bluestein, John Christman, and Seymour Nussenbaum attended the event, alongside a who’s who of lawmakers and dozens of the unit’s family members.

The trio is part of the seven surviving members of the “Ghost Army,” which selected its members for their experience in creative fields such as art, advertising, and architecture.

Bluestein, 100, of Illinois, joined the unit from the Cleveland Institute of Art and worked with camouflage engineers. His friend, 100-year-old Nussembaum, is from New Jersey and made counterfeit uniform patches. Christman, 99, also of New Jersey, was a demolition specialist.

“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,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said at the event, quoting a line in a US Army report about the unit.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also gave remarks, alongside several senators and representatives who sponsored the 2022 bill.

Much of the unit’s fieldwork came after the Allies landed in Europe in June 1944. They would deploy inflatable tanks, use speakers to broadcast the sounds of vehicles moving, and send out radio signals for interception, sometimes receiving fire from deceived German artillery teams, per the nonprofit…