I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3929 

To award the Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the members of 

the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in recognition of their superior 

service and major contributions during World War II. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 4, 2015 

Mr. LATTA (for himself, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. PITTENGER, Mr. STEWART, Mr. JONES, Mr. PETERS, Mr. MCKINLEY, Mr. SCHWEIKERT, Mr. 

HUNTER, Mr. TURNER, Mr. KING of New York, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. RUSSELL, Mr. GIBBS, Ms. 

KAPTUR, Mr. FORBES, Miss RICE of New York, Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. 

JOLLY, Mr. MESSER, Mr. WALBERG, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mrs. 

COMSTOCK, Mr. DESANTIS, and Mr. ZINKE) 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 the Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the 

members of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in 

recognition of their superior service and major contributions 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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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Office of Strategic 

3 Services Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 The Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was 

7 America’s first effort to implement a system of stra8 tegic intelligence during World War II and provided 

9 the basis for the modern-day American intelligence 

10 and special operations communities. The U.S. Spe11 cial Operations Command and the National Clandes12 tine Service chose the OSS spearhead as their insig13 nias. 

14 (2) OSS founder General William J. Donovan is 

15 the only person in American history to receive our 

16 Nation’s four highest decorations, including the 

17 Medal of Honor. Upon learning of his death in 

18 1959, President Eisenhower called General Donovan 

19 the ‘‘last hero’’. In addition to founding and leading 

20 the OSS, General Donovan was also selected by 

21 President Roosevelt, who called him his ‘‘secret 

22 legs’’, as an emissary to Great Britain and conti23 nental Europe before the United States entered 

24 World War II. 

25 (3) All the military branches during World War 

26 II contributed personnel to the OSS. The presentVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:57 Nov 06, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3929.IH H3929

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1 day Special Operations Forces trace their lineage to 

2 the OSS. Its Maritime Unit was a precursor to the 

3 U.S. Navy SEALs. The OSS Operational Groups 

4 and Jedburghs were forerunners to U.S. Army Spe5 cial Forces. The 801st/492nd Bombardment Group 

6 (‘‘Carpetbaggers’’) were progenitors to the Air Force 

7 Special Operations Command. The Marines who 

8 served in the OSS, including the actor Sterling Hay9 den (a Silver Star recipient), Col. William Eddy (a 

10 Distinguished Service Cross recipient who was de11 scribed as the ‘‘nearest thing the United States has 

12 had to a Lawrence of Arabia’’), and Col. Peter Ortiz 

13 (a two-time Navy Cross recipient), were predecessors 

14 to the Marine Special Operations Command. U.S. 

15 Coast Guard personnel were recruited for the Mari16 time Unit and its Operational Swimmer Group. 

17 (4) The OSS organized, trained, supplied, and 

18 fought with resistance organizations throughout Eu19 rope and Asia that played an important role in 

20 America’s victory during World War II. General Ei21 senhower credited the OSS’s covert contribution in 

22 France to the equivalent to having an extra military 

23 division. General Eisenhower told General Donovan 

24 that if it did nothing else, the photographic reconVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:57 Nov 06, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3929.IH H3929

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1 naissance conducted by the OSS prior to the D-Day 

2 Invasion justified its creation. 

3 (5) Four future directors of central intelligence 

4 served as OSS officers: William Casey, William 

5 Colby, Allen Dulles, and Richard Helms. 

6 (6) Women comprised more than one-third of 

7 OSS personnel and played a critical role in the orga8 nization. They included Virginia Hall, the only civil9 ian female to receive a Distinguished Service Cross 

10 in World War II, and Julia Child. 

11 (7) OSS recruited Fritz Kolbe, a German dip12 lomat who became America’s most important spy 

13 against the Nazis in World War II. 

14 (8) America’s leading scientists and scholars 

15 served in the OSS Research and Analysis Branch, 

16 including Ralph Bunche, the first African-American 

17 to receive the Nobel Peace Prize; Pulitzer Prize-win18 ning historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.; Supreme 

19 Court Justice Arthur Goldberg; Sherman Kent; 

20 John King Fairbank; and Walt Rostow. Its ranks in21 cluded seven future presidents of the American His22 torical Association, five of the American Economic 

23 Association, and two Nobel laureates. 


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1 (9) The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of 

2 Intelligence and Research traces its creation to the 

3 OSS Research and Analysis Branch. 

4 (10) James Donovan, who was portrayed by 

5 Tom Hanks in the Steven Spielberg movie ‘‘Bridge 

6 of Spies’’ and negotiated the release of U–2 pilot 

7 Francis Gary Powers, served as General Counsel of 

8 the OSS. 

9 (11) The OSS invented and employed new tech10 nology through its Research and Development 

11 Branch, inventing new weapons and revolutionary 

12 communications equipment. Dr. Christian 

13 Lambertsen invented the first underwater re14 breathing apparatus that was first utilized by the 

15 OSS and is known today as SCUBA. 

16 (12) OSS Detachment 101 operated in Burma 

17 and pioneered the art of unconventional warfare. It 

18 was the first United States unit to deploy a large 

19 guerrilla army deep in enemy territory. It has been 

20 credited with the highest kill/loss ratio for any infan21 try-type unit in American military history and was 

22 awarded a Presidential Unit Citation. 

23 (13) Its X–2 branch pioneered counterintel24 ligence with the British and established the modern 

25 counterintelligence community. The network of conVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:57 Nov 06, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3929.IH H3929

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1 tacts built by the OSS with foreign intelligence serv2 ices led to enduring Cold War alliances. 

3 (14) Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of 

4 French North Africa in November 1942, was aided 

5 by the networks established and information ac6 quired by the OSS to guide Allied landings. 

7 (15) OSS Operation Halyard rescued more 

8 than 500 downed airmen trapped behind enemy lines 

9 in Yugoslavia, one of the most daring and successful 

10 rescue operations of World War II. 

11 (16) OSS ‘‘Mercy Missions’’ at the end of 

12 World War II saved the lives of thousands of Allied 

13 prisoners of war whom it was feared would be mur14 dered by the Japanese. 

15 (17) The handful of surviving men and women 

16 of the OSS whom General Donovan said performed 

17 ‘‘some of the bravest acts of the war’’ are members 

18 of the ‘‘Greatest Generation’’. They have never been 

19 collectively recognized for their heroic and pioneering 

20 service in World War II. 

21 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

22 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

23 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem24 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

25 for the presentation, on behalf of the Congress, of a gold 


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1 medal of appropriate design in commemoration to the 

2 members of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), in rec3 ognition of their superior service and major contributions 

4 during World War II. 

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

6 presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 

7 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec8 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 

9 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec10 retary. 

11 (c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 

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

13 gold medal in commemoration to the members of the 

14 Office of Strategic Services under subsection (a), the 

15 gold medal shall be given to the Smithsonian Insti16 tution, where it will be displayed as appropriate and 

17 made available 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 paragraph (1) 

21 available for display elsewhere, particularly at other 

22 appropriate locations associated with the Office of 

23 Strategic Services. 


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1 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

2 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

3 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 

4 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 

5 a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 

6 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, 

7 and the cost of the gold medal. 

8 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

9 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu10 ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 

11 51 of title 31, United States Code. 

12 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section 

13 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 

14 under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 

Æ 


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