I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5248 

To award a Congressional gold medal to the 369th Infantry Regiment, commonly known as the ‘‘Harlem Hellfighters’’, in recognition of their bravery and outstanding service during World War I. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 21, 2019 

Mr. SUOZZI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To award a Congressional gold medal to the 369th Infantry 

Regiment, commonly known as the ‘‘Harlem 

Hellfighters’’, in recognition of their bravery and outstanding service during World War I. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Harlem Hellfighters 

5 Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) When the United States officially entered 

2 World War I in April 1917, the Armed Forces were 

3 still segregated, even though African-American sol4 diers had served and distinguished themselves in 

5 every war since the Revolutionary War. 

6 (2) The 15th New York National Guard Regi7 ment was mobilized in 1917 as the 369th Infantry 

8 Regiment and called into Federal service on July 25, 

9 1917. 

10 (3) The 369th completed its basic military 

11 practice training at Camp Whitman, New York. 

12 (4) To receive combat training, the 369th re13 ported on October 8, 1917, to Camp Wadsworth, 

14 South Carolina, where the 369th experienced many 

15 incidents of racial discrimination. 

16 (5) Because many White soldiers refused to 

17 perform combat duty with Black soldiers, members 

18 of the 369th were initially assigned manual labor 

19 tasks, such as loading and unloading supplies, and 

20 constructing roads and railroads. 

21 (6) To escape such prejudice, the Regiment 

22 shipped off to France in early 1918 and, on April 

23 8 of that year, was assigned to the French Army for 

24 the duration of American participation in the war. 


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1 (7) On September 25, 1918, the Fourth French 

2 Army went on the offensive in conjunction with the 

3 American drive in the Meuse-Argonne where the 

4 369th captured the important village of Sechault de5 spite sustaining severe losses. 

6 (8) The 369th was also present in the Cham7 pagne-Marne, Meuse-Argonne, Champagne 1918, 

8 and Alsace 1918 campaigns, and fought in the Bat9 tles of Belleau Wood and Chateau-Thierry. 

10 (9) On November 26, 1918, the 369th reached 

11 the banks of the Rhine River, the first Allied unit 

12 to do so. 

13 (10) The 369th was relieved of its assignment 

14 with the French 161st Division on December 12, 

15 1918, then returned to New York, and was demobi16 lized on February 28, 1919. 

17 (11) The 369th received a parade down 5th Av18 enue in New York on February 17, 1919, receiving 

19 applause and cheers from hundreds of thousands of 

20 onlookers. 

21 (12) For his courageous and patriotic service, 

22 Private Henry Johnson of the 369th received the 

23 French Croix de Guerre, with Palm, for extraor24 dinary valor, the first American to be awarded this 

25 honor. He also belatedly received a Purple Heart, 


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1 was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, and in 

2 2015 was awarded the Medal of Honor. 

3 (13) Over 170 individual members of the 369th 

4 received the Croix de Guerre, many, the Distin5 guished Service Cross, and the 369th was awarded 

6 a unit citation. 

7 (14) The 369th was dubbed the ‘‘Harlem 

8 Hellfighters’’ by German soldiers, who found the 

9 men to be incredibly determined and courageous in 

10 battle. 

11 (15) The 369th was one of the first regiments 

12 of African Americans to serve with the American 

13 Expeditionary Forces during World War I and one 

14 of the first units in the United States to have Black 

15 officers lead enlisted men. 

16 (16) Altogether, the 369th spent 191 days on 

17 the front line in World War I, more than any other 

18 American unit. 

19 (17) The 369th never lost a foot of ground or 

20 had a man taken prisoner, despite suffering greater 

21 losses than any other American regiment, with over 

22 1,500 casualties. 

23 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

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

25 House of Representatives and the President pro tempore 


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1 of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the 

2 award, on behalf of the Congress, of a single gold medal 

3 of appropriate design to the 369th Infantry Regiment, 

4 commonly known as the ‘‘Harlem Hellfighters’’, in rec5 ognition of their bravery and outstanding service during 

6 World War I. 

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

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

9 Treasury shall strike the gold medal with suitable em10 blems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the 

11 Secretary. 

12 (c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 

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

14 gold medal under subsection (a), the gold medal 

15 shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where 

16 it will be displayed as appropriate and made avail17 able for research. 

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

19 Congress that the Smithsonian Institution should 

20 make the gold medal received under this Act avail21 able for display elsewhere, particularly at other loca22 tions and events associated with the Harlem 

23 Hellfighters. 


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1 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

2 Under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treas3 ury may prescribe, the Secretary may strike and sell dupli4 cates in bronze of the gold medal struck under section 

5 3(b), at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the medals, 

6 including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and 

7 overhead expenses. 

8 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

9 Medals struck pursuant to this Act are national med10 als for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States 

11 Code. 

Æ 


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