H2452 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE May 18, 2021 Mr. DAVIDSON. Madam Speaker, on and other vehicles, advanced engineered strike the gold medal with suitable emblems, that I demand the yeas and nays. soundtracks, and skillfully crafted radio devices, and inscriptions, to be determined The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- trickery to create the illusion of sizable by the Secretary. (c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— ant to section 3(s) of House Resolution American forces where there were none and to draw the enemy away from Allied troops. (1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of 8, the yeas and nays are ordered. (10) The 3132d and the 3133d Signal Service the gold medal in honor of the Ghost Army, Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, fur- Companies, activated in Pine Camp (now the gold medal shall be given to the Smith- ther proceedings on this motion are Fort Drum), New York, at the Army Experi- sonian Institution, where it will be available postponed. mental Station in March 1944, were the only for display as appropriate and available for f two active duty ‘‘sonic deception’’ ground research. combat units in World War II. (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of b 1245 (11) Soldiers of the 23d Headquarters, Spe- the Congress that the Smithsonian Institu- GHOST ARMY CONGRESSIONAL cial Troops, impersonated other, larger tion should make the gold medal awarded pursuant to this Act available for display GOLD MEDAL ACT Army units by sewing counterfeit patches onto their uniforms, painting false markings elsewhere, particularly at appropriate loca- Mr. CLEAVER. Madam Speaker, I on their vehicles, and creating phony head- tions associated with the Ghost Army, and move to suspend the rules and pass the quarters staffed by fake generals, all in an that preference should be given to locations bill (H.R. 707) to award a Congressional effort to feed false information to Axis spies. affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution. Gold Medal to the 23d Headquarters, (12) During the Battle of the Bulge, the 23d SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. The Secretary may strike and sell dupli- Special Troops and the 3133d Signal Headquarters, Special Troops, created coun- terfeit radio traffic to mask the efforts of cates in bronze of the gold medal struck Service Company, in recognition of General George Patton’s Third Army as it under section 3, at a price sufficient to cover their unique and highly distinguished mobilized to break through to the 101st Air- the costs of the medal, including labor, ma- service as a ‘‘Ghost Army’’ that con- borne and elements of 10th Armored Division terials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead ducted deception operations in Europe in the besieged Belgian town of Bastogne. expenses. during World War II, as amended. (13) In its final mission, Operation SEC. 5. NATIONAL MEDAL. The Clerk read the title of the bill. VIERSEN, in March 1945, the 23d Head- The gold medal struck pursuant to this The text of the bill is as follows: quarters, Special Troops, conducted a tac- Act is a national medal for purposes of chap- tical deception that drew German units down ter 51 of title 31, United States Code. H.R. 707 the Rhine River and away from the Ninth SEC. 6. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EF- Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- Army, allowing the Ninth Army to cross the FECTS. resentatives of the United States of America in Rhine into Germany. On this mission, the The budgetary effects of this Act, for the Congress assembled, 1,100 men of the Ghost Army, with the assist- purpose of complying with the Statutory SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. ance of other units, impersonated forty thou- Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be deter- This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ghost Army sand men, or two complete divisions of mined by reference to the latest statement Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. American forces, by using fabricated radio titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legisla- tion’’ for this Act, submitted for printing in SEC. 2. FINDINGS. networks, soundtracks of construction work the Congressional Record by the Chairman of The Congress finds the following: and artillery fire, and more than 600 inflat- the House Budget Committee, provided that (1) The 23d Headquarters, Special Troops, able vehicles. According to a military intel- such statement has been submitted prior to comprised of the 23d Headquarters and Head- ligence officer of the 79th Infantry, ‘‘There is the vote on passage. quarters Company, Special Troops, the 603d no doubt that Operation VIERSEN materi- Engineer Camouflage Battalion, the 406th ally assisted in deceiving the enemy with re- The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- Combat Engineer Company, the 3132d Signal gard to the real dispositions and intentions ant to the rule, the gentleman from Service Company and the Signal Company, of this Army.’’. Missouri (Mr. CLEAVER) and the gen- Special, 23d Headquarters, Special Troops (14) Three soldiers of the 23d Headquarters, tleman from Arkansas (Mr. HILL) each and the 3133d Signal Service Company were Special Troops, gave their lives and dozens will control 20 minutes. top-secret units of the United States Army were injured in carrying out their mission. The Chair recognizes the gentleman (15) In April 1945, the 3133d Signal Service that served in Europe during World War II. from Missouri. (2) The 23d Headquarters, Special Troops, Company conducted Operation CRAFTSMAN GENERAL LEAVE was actively engaged in battlefield oper- in support of Operation SECOND WIND, the ations from June of 1944 through March of successful allied effort to break through the Mr. CLEAVER. Madam Speaker, I 1945. The 3133d Signal Service Company was German defensive position to the north of ask unanimous consent that all Mem- engaged in operations in Italy in 1945. Florence, Italy, known as the Gothic Line. bers may have 5 legislative days within (3) The deceptive activities of these units Along with an attached platoon of British which to revise and extend their re- were integral to several Allied victories engineers, who were inflatable decoy special- marks on this legislation and to insert across Europe and reduced American casual- ists, the 3133d Signal Service Company used extraneous material thereon. ties. sonic deception to misrepresent troop loca- The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there (4) In evaluating the performance of these tions along this defensive line. (16) The activities of the 23d Headquarters, objection to the request of the gen- units after the War, a U.S. Army analysis tleman from Missouri? found that ‘‘Rarely, if ever, has there been a Special Troops and the 3133d Signal Service Company remained highly classified for There was no objection. group of such a few men which had so great Mr. CLEAVER. Madam Speaker, I an influence on the outcome of a major mili- more than forty years after the war and were tary campaign.’’. never formally recognized. The extraor- yield myself such time as I may con- (5) Many Ghost Army soldiers were citizen- dinary accomplishments of this unit are de- sume. soldiers recruited from art schools, adver- serving of belated official recognition. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong sup- tising agencies, communications companies, (17) The United States is eternally grateful port of H.R. 707, the Ghost Army Con- and other creative and technical professions. to the soldiers of the 23d Headquarters, Spe- gressional Gold Medal Act. (6) The first four members of the 23d Head- cial Troops and the 3133d Signal Service I thank the gentlewoman from New quarters, Special Troops, landed on D-Day Company for their proficient use of innova- Hampshire for her work on this bill and two became casualties while creating tive tactics throughout World War II, which which honors the creativity and inge- false beach landing sites. saved lives and made significant contribu- tions to the defeat of the Axis powers. nuity of the men of the 23d Head- (7) The 23d Headquarters, Special Troops, quarters, Special Troops and the 3133d secret deception operations commenced in SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. Signal Service Company in conducting France on June 14, 1944, when Task Force (a) AWARD AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of Mason, a 17-man detachment of the 23d led the House of Representatives and the Presi- deception operations in Europe during by First Lieutenant Bernard Mason, landed dent pro tempore of the Senate shall make World War II. at Omaha Beach. Task Force Mason con- appropriate arrangements for the award, on The Ghost Army was a 1,100-man unit ducted Operation ELEPHANT between 1 and behalf of the Congress, of a gold medal of ap- comprised mostly of individuals re- 4 July, 1944, to draw enemy fire and protect propriate design to the 23d Headquarters, cruited from art schools. They were the 980th Field Artillery Battalion (VIII Special Troops, and the 3133d Signal Service from advertising agencies, communica- Corps) as part of the Normandy Campaign. Company, known as the ‘‘Ghost Army’’, col- tions companies, and other creative (8) Operation ELEPHANT was a prelude to lectively, in recognition of its unique and in- fields. They were tasked with using 21 full-scale tactical deceptions completed by credible service during World War II. the 23d Headquarters, Special Troops. (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the pur- their creative talents to mislead, de- (9) Often operating on or near the front poses of the award referred to in subsection ceive, and confuse the German Army lines, the 23d Headquarters, Special Troops, (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (in this and lure them away from Allied com- used inflatable tanks, artillery, airplanes Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall bat units. VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:56 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 7634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\K18MY7.023 H18MYPT1 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with HOUSE May 18, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H2453 Following the D-day landing in Madam Speaker, now, this is an ex- In September of 1944, they filled a 25- France, the Ghost Army undertook a ample where both sides of the aisle can mile gap in Patton’s line that had ‘‘traveling road show’’ utilizing fake agree that fake news can be good.