A High Honor
In March, three Ghost Army veterans made the trip to the U.S. Capitol to receive a Congressional Gold Medal. This medal is the highest honor the U.S. legislative body can grant.
Source: The U.S. Army/Wikimedia Commons
During World War II, the Ghost Army consisted of more than 1,000 soldiers. Now, only seven are surviving. Three of these seven were at the ceremony. Those honored include 100-year-old Bernard Bluestein, 100-year-old Seymour Nussenbaum, and 99-year-old John Christman.
A Long Time Coming
These three veterans weren’t alone, however. Many family members of the Ghost Army’s troops who have passed over the decades also attended to celebrate their bravery. For many, this honor felt like a long time coming.
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“It has been 80 years since the Ghost Army landed in France, 19 years since I came to this story, nine years that I’ve been working on the gold medal,” Rick Beyer, the president of Ghost Army Legacy Project, a nonprofit, said. “This is a day that has been a long time coming. But it has been well worth the wait, right?”
The Ghost Army in World War II
The Ghost Army was created in the Second World War as a diversion strategy. These soldiers were trained to divert the Nazis from other Allied troops. They did whatever it took to create these deceptions, from using inflatable tanks to starting fake rumors in French towns.
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More than 1,000 soldiers were assigned to this special army. However, these troops could easily make it look like they were two units of 30,000 soldiers to trick the Germans.
The Successes of the Ghost Army
Throughout World War II, the Ghost Army was wildly successful in its deceits. These men are thought to have saved anywhere from 15,000 to 30,000 American troops.
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In opening the ceremony, House Speaker Mike Johnson succinctly explained how beneficial these men were to the U.S. during the war by speaking from a declassified Army report. “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,” Johnson said.
Who Made up the Ghost Army?
The Ghost Army was made up of many creative young men who had careers at ad agencies and communications companies before the war. However, many other troops made up the unit, such as policemen and miners.
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Those who were more artistic or technical than others found a home within the Ghost Army. These men, all of whom came from different backgrounds, were tasked with diverting the German forces from the real units to the Ghost Army.
Deceptions in France
Many of the Ghost Army’s deceptions occurred in France, though the unit also conducted top-secret missions in Belgium and Germany. Gilbert Seltzer was one veteran of the Ghost Army who successfully pulled off many deceits.
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Often, Seltzer was tasked with projecting the sound of tanks moving through French and German villages. This caused many locals to think that massive tanks had come through the streets — and the rumors would spread.
Notable Successes
Though some veterans have stated that they weren’t aware if they were successful in their diversions or not, especially as no records were kept of their deeds after the war, some notable successes have stood the test of time.
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One victory came in March 1945 when the Allies were crossing the Rhine River. The Ghost Army was able to deceive the Nazis by getting them to think the Allied troops were crossing 20 miles away from where they actually were.
The Secrecy of the Ghost Army
The work of the Ghost Army was incredibly important for Allied troops in World War II. Their work was also incredibly secret. The troops assigned to this unit were sworn to secrecy, no matter what. After the war, all records associated with this deception were classified.
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This high level of classification even led to many in the Army brass forgetting about it. In the late 1980s, the Ghost Army was rediscovered by the military — and veterans were asked to come in for briefings about their campaigns during this time.
Ghost Army Veterans and Their Families
Because of this high level of secrecy, many families of Ghost Army veterans were never aware of what their father, grandfather, or ancestor did during World War II.
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“One of my favorite lines was one gentleman who only would tell his family ‘I blew up tanks,’ without saying they were inflatable tanks,” Representative Ann Kuster, the Ghost Army Congressional Gold Medal Act’s first sponsor, said.
Declassification
However, decades after World War II’s end, the reports and documentation around the Ghost Army became declassified. Once this happened, many veterans’ relatives and nonprofits worked to celebrate the veterans who did so much through their diversions.
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Even today, the military is using what the Ghost Army did in their own deceptions conducted during times of war. In this way, the Ghost Army’s legacy remains.
Heroes Honored
Beyer, who has long worked for the Ghost Army veterans to receive a Gold Medal, has claimed that many of these veterans don’t see themselves as heroes — even though so many other people do.
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Bluestein, a veteran of the Ghost Army, spoke at the ceremony to simply state his gratitude. “You’ve all contributed to my existence and to my being who I am,” he said. “I’m very proud and happy to be here to receive this honor.”