Ghost Army Congressional Gold Medal Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 707, the Ghost Army Congressional Gold Medal Act.

I thank my friend from New Hampshire, Congresswoman Kuster, for proposing it. I appreciate my good friend from Utah, Mr. Stewart, for cosponsoring and helping bring this to the floor today on a bipartisan basis.

Sun Tzu, in ``The Art of War,'' stated: ``All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.''

That was the philosophy that led to the formation of the 23d Headquarters, Special Troops and the 3133d Signal Service Company, known as the Ghost Army.

H.R. 707 will award a Congressional Gold Medal to the U.S. Army's 23d Headquarters, Special Troops and the 3133d Signal Service Company to honor their bravery displayed during World War II.

The Ghost Army, unlike many other units, was comprised, as my friend from Missouri said, of civilian soldiers who had a proclivity for art, architecture, acting, set design, and engineering. During World War II, the 23d Headquarters Special Troops successfully tricked German forces into believing that 1,000 soldiers were a massive force of over 30,000, and they were able to put on 22 large-scale deceptions in Europe during World War II.

Madam Speaker, now, this is an example where both sides of the aisle can agree that fake news can be good.

They did this by using inflatable tanks, aircraft, and speakers broadcasting the sounds of men and military that were not there. The unit was able to pull German attention on these areas and away from the Allied force operations. This army, these men and women, are credited for saving thousands of lives.

Madam Speaker, one of those might have been my father-in-law, who was in Patton's 8th Army as an engineering officer, trudging across from D- day to Germany. So we are all grateful, all of the descendants of those who served on the beaches and on the continent of Europe at the end of the war.

Madam Speaker, I am a history buff as well, and anybody who has watched The History Channel's World War II documentary has undoubtedly seen the Ghost Army in action. The historic videos and Herculean photo of four men holding a tank over their heads is testimony to the Ghost Army's ingenuity and bravery in the World War.

Madam Speaker, the Ghost Army of World War II deserves to be commended in this way, and I thank my friends from New Hampshire and Utah for their work.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Stewart), the cosponsor of this important legislation to recognize the Ghost Army.

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Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from Utah for his important closing words to support this important bill, H.R. 707.

What better tribute to those families of the 1,000 who served in the Ghost Army, and those 11 who we still celebrate as being alive with us today than the recognition they deserve, because those 1,000 saved the lives of thousands more in the Allied force as we completed our task of ridding Europe of fascism.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friends from Utah and New Hampshire for their leadership on this bill. I thank Chairman Cleaver today for guiding our debate, and I encourage everyone in the House to support H.R. 707.

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