91制片厂鈥檚 very own Bernie Bluestein, now 98 years old and a literal fixture
on campus 鈥� that鈥檚 the longtime student鈥檚 larger-than-life bust near the Art Exhibition
Space 鈥� is receiving the highest distinction Congress can bestow.
President Biden on Tuesday signed a awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to the secretive World War II deception units known as the Ghost Army. Bernie, a Schaumburg resident who鈥檚 been taking classes at 91制片厂 for more than 30 years, is among just nine surviving Ghost Army veterans in the U.S.
鈥淢y son called me and was jumping up and down when he heard the news,鈥� Bernie said. 鈥淚 was just flabbergasted. I am so honored by it. It鈥檚 quite an achievement. It happened because of me being in the right place at the right time, but also doing the right thing.鈥�
A lifelong learner and artist, Bernie has been taking art classes at 91制片厂 for more than 30 years. His creative skills served him well in the clandestine Ghost Army, which employed tactics such as inflatable tanks, sound effects, radio trickery and impersonation to deceive the enemy about the strength and location of American troops, according to the .
The Ghost Army鈥檚 existence was top secret until it was declassified in 1996.
鈥淢y family would say, 鈥榃hat did you do?鈥� and I would say, 鈥楥amouflage work.鈥� That
was the end of it,鈥� Bernie said. 鈥淏ut then [in 1996] everybody knew! By then, it was
hard for me to remember a lot of the details. I was happy to do my job and get it
over with. It was two-and-a-half years of my life. I moved on to finishing art school
and beginning my career.鈥�
He continued, 鈥淲e never thought of it being an astounding thing. But now, it becomes it an astounding thing. We sacrificed by putting ourselves next to inflatable tanks and saying, 鈥楬ey, shoot at us!鈥� Here was a guy who didn鈥檛 want to be shooting other people and we were daring the enemy to shoot at us! We saved 30,000 lives, I think the estimate is.鈥�
The medal is being awarded to the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops and the 3133rd Signal Service Company. Bernie said there will be a ceremony in Washington, D.C., hopefully in the near future given the advanced age of the recipients.
鈥淭here鈥檚 only nine of us left, out of about 1,100,鈥� Bernie said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e all seniors; I鈥檓 one of the youngest and I鈥檓 98. We were kind of anxious. We said, 鈥業f you鈥檙e going to do it [give us this honor], you better speed it along. We want to be alive so we can participate.鈥�
Like so many other 91制片厂 students, Bernie is thrilled to be back on campus. This semester he鈥檚 taking sculpture, a long-time interest of his.
鈥淥h yeah, I started class this week," he said. "With the pandemic, it鈥檚 nice to be back. It鈥檚 great seeing the people again and doing my art. This has been what鈥檚 keeping me going. I started at 91制片厂 in 1989. You could say I鈥檓 a 32-year veteran student.鈥�
Want to learn more about Bernie? See this 2013 Daily Herald .
(Photo courtesy of the Daily Herald.)