,i #aadth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #bagj ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,april #cj1 #bjae ,ms4 ,kuster 7for herself and ,mr4 ,king of ,new ,york7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,financial ,services1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,house ,administration1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to award a ,congressional ,gold ,medal to the #bcrd ,headquarters ,special ,troops1 known as the ,ghost ,army1 collectively1 in recognition of its unique and incredible service during ,world ,war ,,ii4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,ghost ,army ,congressional ,gold ,medal ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,the ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,the #bcrd ,headquarters ,special ,troops 7the ,ghost ,army7 was a top-secret unit of the ,united ,states ,army that served in the ,european ,theater of ,operations during ,world ,war ,,ii4 7#b7 ,the unit was actively engaged in battlefield operations from ,june of #aidd through ,march of #aide4 7#c7 ,the deceptive activities of the ,ghost ,army were essential to several ,allied victories across ,europe and are estimated to have saved thousands of lives4 7#d7 ,in evaluating the performance of the ,ghost ,army after the ,war1 a ,u4,s4 ,army analysis found that ,rarely1 if ever1 has there been a group of such a few men which had so great an influence on the outcome of a major military campaign44 7#e7 ,many ,ghost ,army soldiers were specially selected for their mission1 and were recruited from art schools1 advertising agencies1 communications companies1 and other creative and technical professions4 7#f7 ,the first four members of the ,ghost ,army landed on ,d-,day and two became casualties while camouflaging early beach installations4 7#g7 ,the ,ghost ,army's secret deception operations commenced in ,france on ,june #ad1 #aidd1 when ,task ,force ,mason landed at ,omaha ,beach to draw enemy fire and protect the #ihjth ,artillery for #bh days4 7#h7 ,task ,force ,mason was a prelude to #ba full-scale tactical deceptions completed by the ,ghost ,army4 7#i7 ,often operating on or near the front lines1 the ,ghost ,army used inflatable tanks1 artillery1 airplanes and other vehicles1 advanced engineered soundtracks1 and skillfully crafted radio trickery to create the illusion of sizable ,american forces where there were none and to draw the enemy away from ,allied troops4 7#aj7 ,ghost ,army soldiers impersonated other1 larger ,army units by sewing counterfeit patches onto their uniforms1 painting false markings on their vehicles1 and creating phony headquarters staffed by fake generals1 all in an effort to feed false information to ,axis spies4 7#aa7 ,during the ,battle of the ,bulge1 the ,ghost ,army created counterfeit radio traffic to mask the efforts of ,general ,george ,patton's ,third ,army as it mobilized to break through to the #ajast ,airborne and elements of #ajth ,armored ,division in the besieged ,belgian town of ,bastogne4 7#ab7 ,in its final mission1 ,operation ,viersen1 the ,ghost ,army deployed a tactical deception that drew ,german units down the ,rhine ,river and away from the #ith ,army1 allowing the #ith ,army to cross the ,rhine into ,germany4 ,on this mission1 the #a1ajj men of the ,ghost ,army1 with the assistance of other units1 impersonated forty thousand men1 or two complete divisions of ,american forces1 by using fabricated radio networks1 soundtracks of construction work and artillery fire1 and more than #fjj inflatable vehicles4 7#ac7 ,three ,ghost ,army soldiers gave their lives and dozens were injured in carrying out their mission4 7#ad7 ,the activities of the ,ghost ,army remained classified for more than forty years after the war and the extraordinary accomplishments of this unit are deserving of belated recognition4 7#ae7 ,the ,united ,states will be eternally grateful to the ,ghost ,army for their proficient use of innovative tactics throughout ,world ,war ,,ii1 which saved thousands of lives and were instrumental in the defeat of ,nazi ,germany4 #c4 ,congressional ,gold ,medal 7a7 ,award ,authorized ,the ,speaker of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,president pro tempore of the ,senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the award1 on behalf of the ,congress1 of a gold medal of appropriate design to the #bcrd ,headquarters ,special ,troops1 known as the ,ghost ,army1 collectively1 in recognition of its unique and incredible service during ,world ,war ,,ii4 7b7 ,design and ,striking ,for the purposes of the award referred to in subsection 7a71 the ,secretary of the ,treasury 7in this ,act referred to as the ,secretary7 shall strike the gold medal with suitable emblems1 devices1 and inscriptions1 to be determined by the ,secretary4 7c7 ,smithsonian ,institution 7#a7 ,in general ,following the award of the gold medal in honor of the ,ghost ,army1 the gold medal shall be given to the ,smithsonian ,institution1 where it will be available for display as appropriate and available for research4 7#b7 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of the ,congress that the ,smithsonian ,institution should make the gold medal awarded pursuant to this ,act available for display elsewhere1 particularly at appropriate locations associated with the ,ghost ,army1 and that preference should be given to locations affiliated with the ,smithsonian ,institution4 #d4 ,duplicate medals ,the ,secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal struck under section #c1 at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the medal1 including labor1 materials1 dies1 use of machinery1 and overhead expenses4 #e4 ,national medals ,medals struck pursuant to this ,act are national medals for purposes of chapter #ea of title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code4