I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3700 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Louis Zamperini, U.S. Olympian 

and World War II prisoner of war, for his service to the country, 

sacrifice during the war, and his inspiration to others through his courage 

as a survivor. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 16, 2011 

Mr. MCCAUL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Louis Zamperini, 

U.S. Olympian and World War II prisoner of war, for 

his service to the country, sacrifice during the war, and 

his inspiration to others through his courage as a survivor. 

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 ‘‘Louis Zamperini Con5 gressional Gold Medal Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 


tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 3700 IH

1 (1) Louis Zamperini was born in Olean, New 

2 York, on January 26, 1917, and was raised in Tor3 rance, California. 

4 (2) Louis Zamperini attended the University of 

5 Southern California where, in 1934, he set a world 

6 interscholastic record for the mile, clocking in at 

7 00:04:21.2 at the preliminary meet to the State 

8 championships. 

9 (3) Louis Zamperini ran the 5,000 meter dis10 tance event in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, 

11 Germany, the fastest time for an American in the 

12 5,000 distance race that year. 

13 (4) Selflessly, Louis Zamperini left a promising 

14 career as an Olympic athlete and enlisted in the 

15 United States Army Air Corps in September 1941. 

16 (5) While on a rescue mission in 1943, 

17 Zamperini along with Russel Allen ‘‘Phil’’ Philips 

18 and Francis McNamara of the 42nd Bombardment 

19 Squadron, 11th Bombardment Group survived a 

20 deadly crash of their B–24 bomber, named Green 

21 Hornet. 

22 (6) Zamperini survived 47 days at sea, drifting 

23 approximately 2,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean 

24 only to wash ashore on the Marshall Islands, where 


tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 3700 IH

1 he and Phillips were taken prisoner of war by the 

2 Japanese military. 

3 (7) For over two years, Zamperini endured the 

4 horrific conditions of his captivity in several Japa5 nese P.O.W. camps, where he was singled out by 

6 guards for extreme forms of torture because of his 

7 celebrity status as an Olympic athlete. 

8 (8) Though the War Department notified his 

9 family that Zamperini was killed in action, 

10 Zamperini survived his captivity and returned home 

11 upon the liberation of Japan. 

12 (9) For his distinguished service during World 

13 War II, Captain Zamperini was awarded the Purple 

14 Heart, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and a Pris15 oner of War Medal. 

16 (10) Louis Zamperini overcame severe post 

17 traumatic stress disorder from his time as a prisoner 

18 of war to dedicate his life to inspiring others and 

19 being an example for other soldiers to follow. 

20 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

21 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

22 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem23 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

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

25 medal of appropriate design to Louis Zamperini, in recVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:09 Dec 23, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3700.IH H3700

tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 3700 IH

1 ognition of his service to the country, sacrifice during the 

2 war, and his inspiration to others through his courage as 

3 a survivor. 

4 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purpose of the 

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

6 of the Treasury shall strike a gold medal with suitable em7 blems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the 

8 Secretary. 

9 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

10 Under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treas11 ury may prescribe, the Secretary may strike duplicate 

12 medals in bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to 

13 section 3 and sell such duplicate medals at a price suffi14 cient to cover the costs of the duplicate medals (including 

15 labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead ex16 penses) and the cost of the gold medal. 

17 SEC. 5. NATIONAL MEDALS. 

18 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu19 ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 

20 51 of title 31, United States Code. 

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

22 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 

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


tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 3700 IH

1 SEC. 6. FUNDING. 

2 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF CHARGES.—There is author3 ized to be charged against the United States Mint Public 

4 Enterprise Fund an amount not to exceed $30,000 to pay 

5 for the cost of the medals authorized by this Act. 

6 (b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the 

7 sale of duplicate bronze medals under section 4 shall be 

8 deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise 

9 Fund. 

Æ 


tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS