I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3712 

To grant the Congressional Gold Medal to the troops who defended Bataan 

during World War II. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 16, 2011 

Mr. HEINRICH (for himself, Mr. LUJA ́N, and Mr. PEARCE) 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 grant the Congressional Gold Medal to the troops who 

defended Bataan 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, 

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress makes the following findings: 

5 (1) Within hours after the attacks on Pearl 

6 Harbor, Hawaii, the Imperial Japanese forces 

7 launched an attack on the Philippines, cutting off 

8 vital lines of communication to United States and 


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1 Filipino troops assigned to the United States Army 

2 Forces in the Far East under the command of Gen3 eral Douglas MacArthur. 

4 (2) On December 8th, 1941, the 200th Coast 

5 Artillery Regiment, successors to the New Mexico 

6 National Guardsmen who made up part of the famed 

7 ‘‘Rough Riders’’ of the Spanish-American War, were 

8 the ‘‘first to fire’’. 

9 (3) Despite being cut off from supply lines and 

10 reinforcements, the United States and Philippine 

11 Forces quickly executed a plan to delay the Japa12 nese invasion and defend the Philippines against the 

13 Japanese invasion. 

14 (4) By April 1942, troops from the United 

15 States and the Philippines had bravely and staunch16 ly fought off enemy attacks in Bataan for more than 

17 4 months, under strenuous conditions that resulted 

18 in widespread starvation and disease. 

19 (5) By maintaining their position and engaging 

20 the enemy for as long as they did, the troops at Ba21 taan were able to redefine the momentum of the 

22 war, delaying the Japanese timetable to take control 

23 of the southeast Pacific for needed war materials. 

24 Because of the heroic actions of the Bataan defend25 ers, United States and Allied forces throughout the 


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1 Pacific had time to regroup and prepare for the suc2 cessful liberation of the Pacific and the Philippines. 

3 (6) On April 9, 1942, Major General Edward 

4 King, his troops suffering from starvation and a lack 

5 of supplies, surrendered the soldiers from the United 

6 States and the Philippines into enemy hands. 

7 (7) Over the next week, troops from the United 

8 States and the Philippines were taken prisoner and 

9 forced to march 65 miles without any food, water, 

10 or medical care, in what came to be known as the 

11 ‘‘Bataan Death March’’. 

12 (8) During this forced march, thousands of sol13 diers died, either from starvation, lack of medical 

14 care, sheer exhaustion, or abuse by their captors. 

15 (9) Conditions at the camp were appalling, 

16 leading to increased disease and malnutrition among 

17 the prisoners. 

18 (10) The prisoners at Camp O’Donnell would 

19 die at a rate of nearly four hundred per day because 

20 of its poor conditions. 

21 (11) On June 6, 1942, the prisoners from the 

22 United States were transferred to Camp Caba23 natuan, north of Camp O’Donnell. 

24 (12) Nearly 26,000 of the 50,000 Filipino pris25 oners of war died at Camp O’Donnell, and survivors 


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1 were gradually paroled from September through De2 cember of 1942. 

3 (13) Between September 1942 and December 

4 1944, American prisoners of war who survived the 

5 horrific death march were shipped north for forced 

6 labor aboard ‘‘hell ships’’ and succumbed in great 

7 numbers because of the abysmal conditions. Many of 

8 the ships were mistakenly targeted by allied naval 

9 forces because the Japanese military convoys were 

10 not properly labeled as carrying POW’s. The sinking 

11 of the Arisan Maru alone claimed nearly 1,800 

12 American lives. 

13 (14) The prisoners who remained in the camps 

14 suffered from continued mistreatment, malnutrition, 

15 lack of medical care, and horrific conditions until 

16 they were liberated in 1945. 

17 (15) The veterans of Bataan represented the 

18 best of America and the Philippines. They hailed 

19 from diverse locales across both countries and rep20 resented a true diversity of Americans. 

21 (16) Over the subsequent decades, these pris22 oners formed support groups, were honored in local 

23 and State memorials, and told their story to all peo24 ple of the United States. 


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1 (17) The United States Navy has continued to 

2 honor their history and stories by naming 2 ships 

3 after the battle, including 1 ship still in service, the 

4 USS Bataan (LHD–5), in memory of their valor 

5 and honorable resistance against Imperial Japanese 

6 forces. 

7 (18) Many of the survivors of Bataan have now 

8 passed away, and those who remain continue to tell 

9 their story. 

10 (19) The people of the United States and the 

11 Philippines are forever indebted to these men for— 

12 (A) the courage and tenacity they dem13 onstrated during the first 4 months of World 

14 War II, fighting against enemy soldiers; and 

15 (B) the perseverance that they dem16 onstrated during 3 years of capture, imprison17 ment, and atrocious conditions, while maintain18 ing dignity, honor, patriotism, and loyalty. 

19 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

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

21 House of Representatives and the President pro tempore 

22 of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the 

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

24 of appropriate design in honor of the troops from the 

25 United States and the Philippines who defended Bataan 


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1 and were subsequently prisoners of war, collectively, in 

2 recognition of their personal sacrifice and service to their 

3 country during World War II. 

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

5 award under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury 

6 (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall 

7 strike the gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and 

8 inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary. 

9 (c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 

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

11 gold medal in honor of the defenders and prisoners 

12 of war at Bataan under subsection (a), the gold 

13 medal shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, 

14 where it shall be displayed as appropriate and made 

15 available for research. 

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

17 the Congress that the Smithsonian Institution 

18 should make the gold medal received under para19 graph (1) available for display at other locations, 

20 particularly such locations as are associated with the 

21 prisoners of war at Bataan. 

22 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

23 (a) STRIKING OF DUPLICATES.—Under such regula24 tions as the Secretary may prescribe, the Secretary may 


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1 strike duplicates in bronze of the gold medal struck under 

2 section 2. 

3 (b) SELLING OF DUPLICATES.—The Secretary may 

4 sell such duplicates under subsection (a) at a price suffi5 cient to cover the costs of such duplicates, including labor, 

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

7 SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS. 

8 Medals struck pursuant to this Act are National med9 als for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States 

10 Code. 

11 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; PROCEEDS 

12 OF SALE. 

13 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

14 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

15 Public Enterprise Fund, an amount not to exceed $30,000 

16 to pay for the cost of the medal authorized under section 

17 2. 

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

19 sale of duplicate bronze medals under section 3 shall be 

20 deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise 

21 Fund. 

Æ 


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