116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 743 

AN ACT 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the soldiers of 

the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), commonly 

known as ‘‘Merrill’s Marauders’’, in recognition of their 

bravery and outstanding service in the jungles of Burma 

during World War II. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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†S 743 ES

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Merrill’s Marauders 

3 Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds that— 

6 (1) in August 1943, President Franklin D. 

7 Roosevelt and other Allied leaders proposed the cre8 ation of a ground unit of the Armed Forces that 

9 would engage in a ‘‘long-range penetration mission’’ 

10 in Japanese-occupied Burma to— 

11 (A) cut off Japanese communications and 

12 supply lines; and 

13 (B) capture the town of Myitkyina and the 

14 Myitkyina airstrip, both of which were held by 

15 the Japanese; 

16 (2) President Roosevelt issued a call for volun17 teers for ‘‘a dangerous and hazardous mission’’ and 

18 the call was answered by approximately 3,000 sol19 diers from the United States; 

20 (3) the Army unit composed of the soldiers de21 scribed in paragraph (2)— 

22 (A) was officially designated as the 

23 ‘‘5307th Composite Unit (Provisional)’’ with 

24 the code name ‘‘Galahad’’; and 

25 (B) later became known as ‘‘Merrill’s Ma26 rauders’’ (referred to in this section as the 
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1 ‘‘Marauders’’) in reference to its leader, Briga2 dier General Frank Merrill; 

3 (4) in February 1944, the Marauders began 

4 their approximately 1,000-mile trek through the 

5 dense Burmese jungle with no artillery support, car6 rying their supplies on their backs or the pack sad7 dles of mules; 

8 (5) over the course of their 5-month trek to 

9 Myitkyina, the Marauders fought victoriously 

10 against larger Japanese forces through 5 major and 

11 30 minor engagements; 

12 (6) during their march to Myitkyina, the Ma13 rauders faced hunger and disease that were exacer14 bated by inadequate aerial resupply drops; 

15 (7) malaria, typhus, and dysentery inflicted 

16 more casualties on the Marauders than the Japa17 nese; 

18 (8) by August 1944, the Marauders had accom19 plished their mission, successfully disrupting Japa20 nese supply and communication lines and taking the 

21 town of Myitkyina and the Myitkyina airstrip, the 

22 only all-weather airstrip in Northern Burma; 

23 (9) after taking Myitkyina, only 130 Marauders 

24 out of the original 2,750 were fit for duty and all 

25 remaining Marauders still in action were evacuated 
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†S 743 ES

1 to hospitals due to tropical diseases, exhaustion, and 

2 malnutrition; 

3 (10) for their bravery and accomplishments, the 

4 Marauders were awarded the ‘‘Distinguished Unit 

5 Citation’’, later redesignated as the ‘‘Presidential 

6 Unit Citation’’, and a Bronze Star; and 

7 (11) though the Marauders were operational for 

8 only a few months, the legacy of their bravery is 

9 honored by the Army through the modern day 75th 

10 Ranger Regiment, which traces its lineage directly to 

11 the 5307th Composite Unit. 

12 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

13 (a) AWARD AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of the 

14 House of Representatives and the President pro tempore 

15 of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the 

16 award, on behalf of Congress, of a single gold medal of 

17 appropriate design to the soldiers of the 5307th Composite 

18 Unit (Provisional) (referred to in this section as ‘‘Merrill’s 

19 Marauders’’), in recognition of their bravery and out20 standing service in the jungles of Burma during World 

21 War II. 

22 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purposes of the 

23 award referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the 

24 Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall 
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1 strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and 

2 inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary. 

3 (c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the 

5 gold medal referred to in subsection (a) in honor of 

6 Merrill’s Marauders, the gold medal shall be given to 

7 the Smithsonian Institution, where it shall be dis8 played as appropriate and made available for re9 search. 

10 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

11 Congress that the Smithsonian Institution should 

12 make the gold medal received under paragraph (1) 

13 available for display elsewhere, particularly at other 

14 locations and events associated with Merrill’s Ma15 rauders. 

16 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

17 Under such regulations as the Secretary may pre18 scribe, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

19 bronze of the gold medal struck under section 3, at a price 

20 sufficient to cover the costs of the medals, including labor, 

21 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 
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1 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

2 Medals struck pursuant to this Act are national med3 als for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States 

4 Code. 

Passed the Senate December 5, 2019. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 743 

AN ACT 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the solWorld War II. standing service in the jungles of Burma during ers’’, in recognition of their bravery and out- sional), commonly known as ‘‘Merrill’s Maraud- diers of the 5307th Composite Unit (Provi-