Gold awarded to World War II OSS

Collectors can buy bronze duplicates of the OSS Congressional Gold Medal on the U.S. Mint’s website.

A Congressional Gold Medal was presented March 21 to Office of Strategic Services during a ceremony in Emancipation Hall of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

The medal is a collective recognition of all those who worked for OSS during World War II.

Bronze duplicates of the medal can be purchased on the U.S. Mint’s website at www.usmint.gov.

The three-inch medal is $39.95, and the 1.5-inch medal is $6.95.

According to the Mint, the OSS was America’s first effort to implement a system of strategic intelligence during World War II and provided the basis for the modern-day American intelligence and special operations communities.

Present-day Special Operations Forces trace their lineage to the OSS. The CIA, the Navy SEALs, the Army Special Forces and the Air Force Special Operations Command all have their precursors in the OSS.

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research also traces its creation to the OSS Research and Analysis Branch.

The OSS was composed of both military personnel and civilians. Women comprised more than one-third of the OSS personnel. Many of America’s leading scientists and scholars served in the OSS. The OSS organized, trained, supplied and fought with resistance organizations throughout Europe and Asia.

They conducted covert operations and reconnaissance; pioneered new technology, including the forerunner of SCUBA gear; and developed innovative counterintelligence actions that provided vital information during World War II.