Help Convince Congress to Honor Veterans of the OSS

By Damion Harte - October 1, 2016

OSS founder Maj. Gen. William J. Donovan with members of the OSS Operational Groups, forerunners of today’s U.S.special operations forces, at the Congressional Country Club in Besthesda, Md., which served as the primary OSS training facility. Photo courtesy of OSS Society

For some time now DefenseMediaNetwork.com and the OSS Society have been asking you to support the passage of a resolution to honor our World War II heroes of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), forerunners of the Central Intelligence Agency and United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), by granting OSS veterans the Congressional Gold Medal. Today, we are closer than ever to doing the right thing – simply recognizing and honoring the men and women who conducted some of the most dangerous and incredible missions of World War II. They gathered intelligence and went behind enemy lines, where they conducted direct action against the enemy and trained, supplied and led resistance movements in Europe and Asia.

Office of Strategic Services Weapons Training

Candidates for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) train at Prince William Forest Park, Va. National Archives and Records Administration photo

Close isn’t good enough. It wasn’t for members of the OSS, and it shouldn’t be for Congress. You hold the last hope in making sure that we honor the very few surviving OSS veterans. Given the secrecy that surrounded their work in World War II, their bravery has only come to light in recent years with the declassification of OSS records. As a result, members of the OSS have never been properly recognized for their trailblazing and heroic service. The Office of Strategic Services Congressional Gold Medal Act (HR 3929) would collectively award a Congressional Gold Medal to the men and women of the OSS, whom Gen. William J. “Wild Bill” Donovan called his “glorious amateurs.” Today is our chance to honor them the way they rightfully deserve.

A Jedburgh team prepares for a flight into occupied France during World War II. National Archives photo

In order to get Congress to pass the the resolution, we need the support of House leadership, specifically House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA-23). This bill is the only Congressional Gold Medal bill that has been passed by the Senate and has the requisite number of cosponsors – nearly 75 percent of House members – to be passed by the House.

If you believe that honoring our OSS Veterans is the right thing to do, we urge you to contact Congressman McCarthy at 202-225-4000. Please share this article with as many like-minded friends, family, and colleagues as possible. The time to do it is now.