2017-09-20 Wed

The designs for the congressional gold medal to honour the Office of Strategic Services were selected by the CCAC on 19th September. Commission of Fine Arts will review the designs on 20th September. America used strategic intelligence during World War II for the first time through the OSS. It is the basis for the today’s American intelligence and special operations communities.

The obverse features the inscription OSS. Silhouettes of a woman in civilian garb, a paratrooper falling to earth, and a man in a suit play hide and seek over the letters. The representative shapes have no details since OSS agents operate anonymously. The dates “1942-1945” are also featured on the design. The reverse design depicts the OSS Spearhead inscribed with code words representing important OSS missions and agents. The OSS Society liked both these designs.

The CFA had earlier reviewed another design on 15th June 2017 and had made certain recommendations. The CCAC and OSS Society could not finalise on the proposed designs on 21st June. The final recommended designs were chosen from 9 obverse and 8 reverse designs.