‘Extraordinary courage’: Suburban Ghost Army vet to receive Congressional Gold Medal

Hoffman Estates resident Bernard Bluestein’s service with the Ghost Army was kept a military secret for more than 50 years.

But since its existence was declassified in 1996, members of the extraordinary World War II unit that used deceptive tactics like inflatable tanks and radio trickery to dupe the Germans, have received their long overdue acclaim.

That continues in March when Bluestein and the six other surviving members of the 1,100-member 23rd Headquarters Special Troops will be the inaugural recipients of the Congressional Gold Medal.

Bluestein, 100, will travel to Washington, D.C. to attend a March 21 awards ceremony hosted by House Speaker Mike Johnson and other congressional leaders.

While he appreciates the honor, Bluestein said Monday he’s also disappointed that it comes at a time when so few of the Ghost Army’s members are around to receive the recognition.

“Why wasn’t this exposed earlier?” he said. “I’m just one individual. There were (1,100) men that were in the same outfit I was in.”

The work of what’s been called a “traveling road show of deception” is credited with saving an estimated 30,000 American lives during the war in Europe.

But at the time, Bluestein had to keep his efforts secret, even to his parents.

“I said I was in a camouflage outfit,” is what Bluestein said he told his family. “If I told them what I did, attracting German fire, they would have said, ‘You’re crazy.’”

Bluestein and the other members served as decoys, drawing German fire towards themselves and their phony tanks, jeeps and artillery, while steering it clear of other units, according to the National WWII Museum’s website.

His journey to the unit began while he was student at the Cleveland School of Art, when he saw a notice on the bulletin board stating that the Army was looking for young artists for a new camouflage company.

“I wasn’t a macho guy. I wasn’t a gung ho guy that played with toy soldiers,” he said Monday. “They only had two other words that intrigued me -- it said ‘non fighting.’”

Most of the 23rd’s members arrived in England in May 1944 and would go on to take part in 22 deceptions in Europe, from Normandy to the Rhine River. Fellow members included fashion designer Bill Blass and photographer Art Kane.

Bluestein’s team made fake patches, signs, and vehicle stencils, according to The Ghost Army Legacy Project website. He remembers taking part in one particularly dangerous mission on the French side of the Rhine, facing German soldiers.

One morning, he recalled, he left the mess tent after breakfast and the Germans started shelling.

“Fortunately, we were really lucky. They didn’t kill anybody,” he said.

The deception worked well enough that 14,000 Allied soldiers were able to cross the Rhine 10 miles away with no casualties.

Following his service, Bluestein turned down an opportunity to go to West Point and instead became an industrial designer, creating products for companies such as Zenith and Sunbeam.

In his retirement, he’s indulged his passion for art. He still goes to Harper College to work on his art, and his apartment in Hoffman Estates is filled with his sculptures.

The honor he and his six fellow Ghost Army members will receive this spring was created through legislation Congress passed in 2022. It is to be considered Congress' highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements by individuals or institutions.

The award ceremony set for March 21will be the first time the medal, designed and produced by the U.S. Treasury Department, will be unveiled.

The selection of the recipients culminates a nearly 20-year effort by members and volunteers of the Ghost Army Legacy Project to raise awareness and win recognition for the little-known unit that played an unheralded part in the Allied victory, project officials said.

“What made the Ghost Army special was not just their extraordinary courage, but their creativity,” said Rep. Annie Kuster, a New Hampshire Democrat who was the House sponsor of the bill authorizing the Gold Medal. “Their story reminds us that listening to unconventional ideas, like using visual and sound deception, can help us solve existential challenges like defeating tyranny.”