,,ii #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #adba ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,may #ac1 #bjai,mr4 ,markey 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,portman1 ,mr4 ,van ,hollen1 ,mr4 ,king1 ,mr4 ,blumenthal1 ,ms4 ,klobuchar1 ,mr4 ,kennedy1 ,mrs4 ,shaheen1 ,mr4 ,schumer1 and ,ms4 ,warren7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,banking1 ,housing1 and ,urban ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to award a ,congressional ,gold ,medal to the #bc;d ,headquarters ,special ,troops and the #cacc;d ,signal ,service ,company in recognition of their unique and distinguished service as a 8,ghost ,army0 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 ,congress finds that-- 7#a7 the #bc;d ,headquarters ,special ,troops 7comprised 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 ,company1 and the ,signal ,company1 ,special1 #bc;d ,headquarters1 ,special ,troops7 and the #cacc;d ,signal ,service ,company were top-secret units of the ,united ,states ,army that served in ,europe during ,world ,war ,,ii2 7#b7 the #bc;d ,headquarters ,special ,troops was actively engaged in battlefield operations from ,june of #aidd through ,march of #aide2 7#c7 the #cacc;d ,signal ,service ,company was engaged in operations in ,italy in #aide2 7#d7 the deceptive activities of these units were integral to several ,allied victories across ,europe and reduced casualties2 7#e7 in evaluating the performance of these units after ,world ,war ,,ii1 an ,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 campaign42 7#f7 many ,ghost ,army soldiers were citizen-soldiers recruited from art schools1 advertising agencies1 communications companies1 and other creative and technical professions2 7#g7 the first #d members of the #bc;d ,headquarters ,special ,troops landed on ,d-,day and two became casualties while creating false beach landing sites2 7#h7 the #bc;d ,headquarters ,special ,troops secret deception operations commenced in ,france on ,june #ad1 #aidd1 when ,task ,force ,mason 7a #ag-man detachment of the #bc;d led by ,first ,lieutenant ,bernard ,mason7 landed at ,omaha ,beach2 7#i7 ,task ,force ,mason conducted ,operation ,elephant from ,july #a to #d1 #aidd1 to draw enemy fire and protect the #ihjth ,field ,artillery ,battalion 7,,viii ,corps7 as part of the ,normandy ,campaign2 7#aj7 ,operation ,elephant was a prelude to the #ba full-scale tactical deceptions completed by the #bc;d ,headquarters ,special ,troops2 7#aa7 often operating on or near the front lines1 the #bc;d ,headquarters ,special ,troops 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 troops2 7#ab7 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 #b active duty sonic deception ground combat units in ,world ,war ,,ii2 7#ac7 soldiers of the #bc;d ,headquarters ,special ,troops 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 spies2 7#ad7 during the ,battle of the ,bulge1 the #bc;d ,headquarters ,special ,troops created counterfeit radio traffic in an effort to deceive the enemy of the movement of elements of ,general ,george ,s4 ,patton's ,third ,army as it shifted to break through to the #ajast ,airborne ,division and elements of #ajth ,armored ,division in the besieged ,belgian town of ,bastogne2 7#ae7 in its final mission1 ,operation ,viersen1 in ,march #aide1 the #bc;d ,headquarters ,special ,troops conducted a tactical deception operation intended to draw ,german units down the ,rhine ,river and away from the ,ninth ,army1 allowing the ,ninth ,army to cross the ,rhine into ,germany2 7#af7 during ,operation ,viersen1 the #bc;d ,headquarters ,special ,troops with the assistance of other units1 impersonated #dj1jjj men1 or #b complete divisions of ,american forces1 by using fabricated radio networks1 soundtracks of construction work and artillery fire1 and more than #fjj inflatable and real vehicles2 7#ag7 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 ,army42 7#ah7 #c soldiers of the #bc;d ,headquarters ,special ,troops gave their lives and dozens were injured in carrying out their mission2 7#ai7 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 ,line2 7#bj7 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 line2 7#ba7 the activities of the #bc;d ,headquarters ,special ,troops and the #cacc;d ,signal ,service ,company remained highly classified for more than #dj years after the war and were never formally recognized2 7#bb7 the extraordinary accomplishments of this unit are deserving of belated official recognition2 and 7#bc7 the ,united ,states is eternally grateful to the soldiers of the #bc;d ,headquarters ,special ,troops and the #cacc;d ,signal ,service ,company for their proficient use of innovative tactics during ,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 ,president ,pro ,tempore of the ,senate and the ,speaker of the ,house of ,representatives shall make appropriate arrangements for the award1 on behalf of ,congress1 of a gold medal of appropriate design to the #bc;d ,headquarters ,special ,troops and the #cacc;d ,signal ,services ,company in recognition of unique and highly distinguished 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 under subsection 7a71 the gold medal shall be given to the ,smithsonian ,institution1 where it shall be available for display as appropriate and made available for research4 7#b7 ,sense of congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that the ,smithsonian ,institution should make the gold medal received under paragraph 7#a7 available for display elsewhere1 particularly at other locations associated with the #bc;d ,headquarters ,special ,troops and the #cacc;d ,signal ,services ,company4 7d7 ,duplicate medals ,under regulations that the ,secretary may promulgate1 the ,secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal struck under this ,act1 at a price sufficient to cover the cost of the medals1 including labor1 materials1 dies1 use of machinery1 and overhead expenses4 #d4 ,status of medal 7a7 ,national medal ,the gold medal struck under this ,act shall be a national medal for the purposes of chapter #ea of title #ca1 ,unites ,states ,code4 7b7 ,numismatic items ,for purpose of section #eacd of title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code1 all medals struck under this ,act shall be considered to be numismatic items4