Public Law 117-85 passed February 1, 2022

Congressional Gold Medal to the “Ghost Army” for successful deception operations during World War 2.

23rd Headquarters Special Troops serving the United States Army in Europe during Wold War 2. Troops active from June 1944 to March 1945. These units were integral to Allied victories and reduced casualties. Ghost Army soldiers were citizen-soldiers. Men who were recruited from art schools, advertising agencies, communication companies and technical professions.

Operation Troutfly- cancelled

Operation Elephant July 1, 1944 to July 4, 1944

23rd Headquarters Special Troops used full scale inflatable tanks, artillery, airplanes and other vehicles, advanced soundtracks and radio trickery to create the illusion of sizable American forces where there were none to draw the enemy away from allied troops. Soldiers impersonated larger Army units by sewing counterfeit patches on their uniforms, painting false markings on their vehicles and created phony headquarter staff generals in order to feed false information to the Axis spies.

During the Battle of the Bulge they created false radio traffic in order to deceive enemy movement.

Operation Viersen was a tactical deception to draw German units down the Rhine River using fabricated radio networks, construction soundtracks, and hundreds of inflatable and real vehicles.

The gold medal will be displayed in the Simthsonian Institution.

Replica bronze medals will be available for purchase. The funds to make these replicas will be charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund. All profits will be deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.