,i #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #bcej ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,april #bb1 #bjai,ms4 ,kuster of ,new ,hampshire 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 #bc;d ,headquarters1 ,special ,troops and the #cacc;d ,signal ,service ,company1 in recognition of their unique and highly distinguished service as a ,ghost ,army that conducted deception operations in ,europe 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 #bc;d ,headquarters1 ,special ,troops1 comprised of the #bc;d ,headquarters and ,headquarters ,company1 ,special ,troops1 the #fjc;d ,engineer ,camouflage ,battalion1 the #djfth ,combat ,engineer ,company1 the #cacb;d ,signal ,service ,company and the ,signal ,company1 ,special1 #bc;d ,headquarters1 ,special ,troops and the #cacc;d ,signal ,service ,company were top-secret units of the ,united ,states ,army that served in ,europe during ,world ,war ,,ii4 7#b7 ,the #bc;d ,headquarters1 ,special ,troops1 was actively engaged in battlefield operations from ,june of #aidd through ,march of #aide4 ,the #cacc;d ,signal ,service ,company was engaged in operations in ,italy in #aide4 7#c7 ,the deceptive activities of these units were integral to several ,allied victories across ,europe and reduced ,american casualties4 7#d7 ,in evaluating the performance of these units 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 citizen-soldiers recruited from art schools1 advertising agencies1 communications companies1 and other creative and technical professions4 7#f7 ,the first four members of the #bc;d ,headquarters1 ,special ,troops1 landed on ,d-,day and two became casualties while creating false beach landing sites4 7#g7 ,the #bc;d ,headquarters1 ,special ,troops1 secret deception operations commenced in ,france on ,june #ad1 #aidd1 when ,task ,force ,mason1 a #ag-man detachment of the #bc;d led by ,first ,lieutenant ,bernard ,mason1 landed at ,omaha ,beach4 ,task ,force ,mason conducted ,operation ,,elephant between #a and #d ,july1 #aidd1 to draw enemy fire and protect the #ihjth ,field ,artillery ,battalion 7,,viii ,corps7 as part of the ,normandy ,campaign4 7#h7 ,operation ,,elephant was a prelude to #ba full-scale tactical deceptions completed by the #bc;d ,headquarters1 ,special ,troops4 7#i7 ,often operating on or near the front lines1 the #bc;d ,headquarters1 ,special ,troops1 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 ,the #cacb;d and the #cacc;d ,signal ,service ,companies1 activated in ,pine ,camp 7now ,fort ,drum71 ,new ,york1 at the ,army ,experimental ,station in ,march #aidd1 were the only two active duty sonic deception ground combat units in ,world ,war ,,ii4 7#aa7 ,soldiers of the #bc;d ,headquarters1 ,special ,troops1 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#ab7 ,during the ,battle of the ,bulge1 the #bc;d ,headquarters1 ,special ,troops1 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#ac7 ,in its final mission1 ,operation ,,viersen1 in ,march #aide1 the #bc;d ,headquarters1 ,special ,troops1 conducted a tactical deception that drew ,german units down the ,rhine ,river and away from the ,ninth ,army1 allowing the ,ninth ,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 ,according to a military intelligence officer of the #gith ,infantry1 ,there is no doubt that ,operation ,,viersen materially assisted in deceiving the enemy with regard to the real dispositions and intentions of this ,army44 7#ad7 ,three soldiers of the #bc;d ,headquarters1 ,special ,troops1 gave their lives and dozens were injured in carrying out their mission4 7#ae7 ,in ,april #aide1 the #cacc;d ,signal ,service ,company conducted ,operation ,,craftsman in support of ,operation ,,second ,,wind1 the successful allied effort to break through the ,german defensive position to the north of ,florence1 ,italy1 known as the ,gothic ,line4 ,along with an attached platoon of ,british engineers1 who were inflatable decoy specialists1 the #cacc;d ,signal ,service ,company used sonic deception to misrepresent troop locations along this defensive line4 7#af7 ,the activities of the #bc;d ,headquarters1 ,special ,troops and the #cacc;d ,signal ,service ,company remained highly classified for more than forty years after the war and were never formally recognized4 ,the extraordinary accomplishments of this unit are deserving of belated official recognition4 7#ag7 ,the ,united ,states is eternally grateful to the soldiers of the #bc;d ,headquarters1 ,special ,troops and the #cacc;d ,signal ,service ,company for their proficient use of innovative tactics throughout ,world ,war ,,ii1 which saved lives and made significant contributions to the defeat of the ,axis powers4 #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 #bc;d ,headquarters1 ,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 medal ,the gold medal struck pursuant to this ,act is a national medal for purposes of chapter #ea of title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code4