Arthur Singer A'39

Arthur Singer

ARTHUR B. SINGER, WWll VETERAN TO BE AMONG RECIPIENTS
OF CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL AT MARCH CEREMONY

Arthur B. Singer to Posthumously Receive High Honor for his Role in Secret Ghost Army

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The long-awaited ceremony to present the Congressional Gold Medal to the Ghost Army, the secret WWII units that used creative deception to fool the enemy, will take place at the Capitol on March 21. Among those posthumously recognized will be Arthur B. Singer of New York State, who served in the Ghost Army as a member of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, 603rd Camouflage Engineers.

House Speaker Mike Johnson will host the special event, along with House and Senate leaders and sponsors of the legislation passed in 2022 authorizing the award, Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements by individuals or institutions. It will be the first time the Gold Medal, designed and produced by the U.S. Treasury Department, will be unveiled.

The special ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. on Thursday, March 21 at the Emancipation Hall, Capitol Visitors Center. It will culminate 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 Army units that played a unique but unheralded part in the Allied victory of WWII. 

“It’s been a long but ultimately rewarding effort to bring attention and much overdue recognition to the Ghost Army,” said Rick Beyer, president of The Ghost Army Legacy Project. “The story of the Ghost Army is one of courage, creativity, reliance, and honor,
and I am proud to have been a part of this effort, along with so many others, to earn the credit and gratitude from the country these soldiers served to protect.”

Arthur B. Singer (1917-1990) was a noted American wildlife artist who served his nation in World War II as a member of The Ghost Army.  In Rochester, NY, at The Central Library Arthur Singer’s artwork is currently being featured in an exhibition called “Our Nature” along with his other family members, now through May 18th, 2024.

Alan Singer, A'72 with his wife Anna Sears, Fairport, N.Y. and Paul Singer with his wife Janet, Brooklyn, N.Y. will attend the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony.

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.