Chinese American World War II Veterans Congressional Gold Medal Act

Summary: Chinese American World War II Veterans Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill directs the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to make appropriate arrangements for the award of a single Congressional Gold Medal to the Chinese American Veterans of World War II in recognition of their dedicated service during World War II.  The medal shall be displayed at the Smithsonian Institution, which is urged to make the medal available for display at other locations associated with such veterans or with World War II.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Chinese American World War II 
Veterans Congressional Gold Medal Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Chinese Americans served the United States in every 
        conflict since the Civil War, and distinguished themselves in 
        World War II, serving in every theater of battle and every 
        branch of service, earning citations for their heroism and 
        honorable service, up to and including the Congressional Medal 
        of Honor.
            (2) Chinese nationals and Chinese Americans faced 
        institutional discrimination in the United States since before 
        World War II, limiting the size of their population and their 
        ability to build thriving communities in America.
            (3) The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was the first Federal 
        law that broadly restricted immigration and a specific 
        nationality, making it illegal for Chinese laborers to 
        immigrate to the United States, and limiting the Chinese 
        population in America for over sixty years.
            (4) Major court decisions such as the decisions in Lum v. 
        Rice and People v. Hall found ``yellow'' races to be equal to 
        African Americans with regard to ``separate but equal'' school 
        facilities, and prohibited Chinese Americans, along with 
        ``Black, mulatto, or Indian'' persons, from testifying against 
        White men.
            (5) Chinese Americans were harassed, beaten, and murdered 
        because of their ethnicity. The worst instances include the 
        Chinese Massacre of 1871, where 17 Chinese immigrants in Los 
        Angeles, California, were tortured and murdered; the Rock 
        Spring Massacre of 1885 where White rioters killed 28 Chinese 
        miners and burned 75 of their homes in Rock Springs, Wyoming; 
        and the Hells Canyon Massacre of 1887 where 34 Chinese 
        goldminers were ambushed and murdered in Hells Canyon, Oregon.
            (6) There were only 78,000 Chinese Americans living on the 
        United States mainland, with 29,000 living in Hawaii, at the 
        start of World War II as a result of Federal and State 
        legislation and judicial decisions.
            (7) Despite the anti-Chinese discrimination at the time, as 
        many as 20,000 Chinese Americans served in the U.S. Armed 
        Forces during World War II. Approximately forty percent (40 
        percent) of those who served were not United States citizens 
        due to the laws that denied U.S. citizenship for persons of 
        Chinese descent.
            (8) Chinese Americans, although small in numbers, made 
        important contributions to the World War II effort.
            (9) Of the total Chinese Americans serving, approximately 
        25 percent served in the U.S. Army Air Force/Corps, with some 
        sent to the China-Burma-India (CBI) theater with the 14th Air 
        Service Group.
            (10) The remainder served in all branches of the U.S. Armed 
        Forces in all four theaters of war.
            (11) The first all Chinese-American group was the 14th Air 
        Service Group, 859th Signal Corps in the CBI theater which 
        enabled extensive and effective operations against the Japanese 
        military in China.
            (12) Chinese Americans are widely acknowledged for their 
        role in the Army's 14th Air Force, 23rd Fighter Group, widely 
        known as the Flying Tigers.
            (13) The Flying Tigers eventually established American air 
        superiority in China and supported cargo flights from India to 
        China over ``The Hump''.
            (14) Chinese Americans assigned to the CBI theater made 
        transoceanic journeys through hostile territories, and were 
        subject to enemy attack while at sea and in the air.
            (15) In the Pacific Theater, Chinese Americans were in 
        ground, air, and ocean combat and support roles throughout the 
        Pacific including New Guinea, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, Iwo 
        Jima, Okinawa, Philippines, Marianas, and Aleutian Islands.
            (16) Throughout the Pacific and CBI theaters, they 
        performed vital functions in translating; coordinating National 
        Chinese and American combat operations; servicing and repairing 
        aircraft and armaments; training National Chinese troops and 
        sailors; delivering medical care; providing signal and 
        communication support; gathering and analyzing intelligence; 
        participating in ground and air combat; and securing and 
        delivering supplies.
            (17) Chinese Americans also served in combat and support 
        roles in the European and African theaters, serving in North 
        Africa, Sicily, Italy, the Normandy D-Day invasion which 
        liberated Western Europe, and the Battle of the Bulge, 
        occupying Western Germany while helping to liberate Central 
        Europe.
            (18) Chinese Americans flew bomber missions, served in 
        infantry units and combat ships in the Battle of the Atlantic, 
        including aboard Merchant Marines convoys vulnerable to 
        submarine and air attacks.
            (19) Chinese-American women left traditional domestic 
        duties for patriotic service, serving as translators who 
        interpreted Japanese documents containing military plans.
            (20) Many Chinese-American women served in the Women's Army 
        Corps (WACs), the Army Air Force, and the United States Naval 
        Reserve Women's Reserve (WAVES), and some became pilots, air 
        traffic controllers, flight trainers, weather forecasters, 
        occupational therapists, and nurses.
            (21) Captain Francis B. Wai is the only Chinese American 
        serving in World War II to have been awarded a Congressional 
        Medal of Honor, the highest military award given by our Nation. 
        His posthumous Distinguished Service Medal, awarded in 1944 was 
        upgraded in 2000 to a Congressional Medal of Honor.
            (22) Chinese Americans also earned Combat Infantry Badges, 
        Purple Hearts, Bronze Stars, Silver Stars, Distinguished 
        Service Medals and Distinguished Flying Medals. Units with 
        Chinese Americans were also awarded unit citations for valor 
        and bravery.
            (23) The United States remains forever indebted to the 
        bravery, valor, and dedication that the Chinese American 
        Veterans of World War II displayed. Their commitment and 
        sacrifice demonstrates a highly uncommon and commendable sense 
        of patriotism and honor in the face of discrimination.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
            (1) the term ``Chinese American Veterans of World II'' 
        includes individuals of Chinese ancestry who served--
                    (A) honorably at any time during the period 
                December 7, 1941, and ending December 31, 1946; and
                    (B) in an active duty status under the command of 
                the United States Armed Forces; and
            (2) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the 
        Treasury.

SEC. 4. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

    (a) Award Authorized.--The President pro tempore of the Senate and 
the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall make appropriate 
arrangements for the award, on behalf of Congress, of a single gold 
medal of appropriate design to the Chinese American Veterans of World 
War II, in recognition of their dedicated service during World War II.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes of the award referred to 
in subsection (a), the Secretary shall strike the gold medal with 
suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the 
Secretary.
    (c) Smithsonian Institute.--
            (1) In general.--Following the award of the gold medal in 
        honor of the Chinese American Veterans of World War II, the 
        gold medal shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where 
        it shall be available for display as appropriate and made 
        available for research.
            (2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
        the Smithsonian Institution should make the gold medal received 
        under paragraph (1) available for display elsewhere, 
        particularly at other locations associated with the Chinese 
        American Veterans of World II or with World War II.
    (d) Duplicate Medals.--Under regulations that the Secretary may 
promulgate, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of 
the gold medal struck under this Act, at a price sufficient to cover 
the cost of the medals, including labor, materials, dies, use of 
machinery, and overhead expenses.

SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDAL.

    (a) National Medal.--The gold medal struck under this Act shall be 
a national medal for the purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United 
States Code.
    (b) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of section 5134 of title 31, 
United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be 
considered to be numismatic items.