II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 921 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 

of the 100 year anniversary of the 1st Infantry Division. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 24, 2017 

Mr. MORAN (for himself and Mr. ROBERTS) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins 

in commemoration of the 100 year anniversary of the 

1st Infantry Division. 

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 ‘‘Duty First Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds that— 

7 (1) the 1st Infantry Division was constituted on 

8 May 24, 1917, and is the first and oldest permaVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:40 Apr 25, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S921.IS S921

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1 nently established combat division of the United 

2 States Army; 2017 is the centennial of the Division; 

3 (2) the 1st Infantry Division has been in con4 tinuous service since its establishment; 

5 (3) the 1st Infantry Division has fought with 

6 distinction in every major conflict since 1917 except 

7 the Korean War, when it was on occupation duty in 

8 Germany; 

9 (4) in World War I, the then-First Expedi10 tionary Division was the first United States division 

11 to arrive in France, firing the first United States 

12 shots of the war, suffering the first casualties, and 

13 securing the first United States victory at the Battle 

14 of Cantigny in May, 1918; 

15 (5) the Battle of Cantigny was also the first 

16 modern, combined arms battle in the history of the 

17 United States; 

18 (6) the First Expeditionary Division fought 

19 with distinction in all subsequent campaigns and, 

20 after occupation duty in Germany, was the last com21 bat division to return home in 1919; 

22 (7) 5 First Expeditionary Division soldiers re23 ceived the Medal of Honor in World War I; 


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1 (8) in World War II, the 1st Infantry Division 

2 was the first to deploy to Europe, fighting in North 

3 Africa and Sicily in 1942 and 1943; 

4 (9) General George S. Patton, Jr., commander 

5 of the Seventh Army of the United States in the 

6 Mediterranean, stated that he would not invade Sic7 ily without the 1st Infantry Division as the assault 

8 division; 

9 (10) the 1st Infantry Division was the lead as10 sault division on Omaha Beach in Normandy on D11 Day, June 6, 1944; 

12 (11) against frightful odds and despite multiple 

13 challenges, the 1st Infantry Division secured a beach 

14 head on a day when failure could have altered the 

15 outcome of the war; 

16 (12) the 1st Infantry Division played pivotal 

17 roles in the liberation of France and Belgium, the 

18 Battle of the Bulge, the crossing of the Rhine River, 

19 and the invasion and defeat of Nazi Germany; 

20 (13) after the war, the 1st Infantry Division 

21 supported and secured the International Military 

22 Tribunal at Nuremburg, Germany, guarding infa23 mous Nazi officials during the courtroom pro24 ceedings; 


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1 (14) 17 1st Infantry Division soldiers received 

2 the Medal of Honor in World War II; 

3 (15) the 1st Infantry Division was the only 

4 United States combat division in Europe from 1946 

5 to 1951, returning to the United States and Fort 

6 Riley, Kansas, in 1955; 

7 (16) the 1st Infantry Division was one of the 

8 first 2 combat divisions deployed to Vietnam in 

9 1965, defending the vital Highway 13 corridor 

10 against enemy infiltration from Cambodia to the 

11 capital at Saigon; 

12 (17) the 1st Infantry Division fought gallantly 

13 in Operation Junction City, the largest operation of 

14 the war, in 1967 and in all 3 waves of the Tet Of15 fensive in 1968; 

16 (18) 12 1st Infantry Division soldiers received 

17 the Medal of Honor in Vietnam; 

18 (19) the 1st Infantry Division deterred Soviet 

19 aggression against NATO Europe from 1970 to 

20 1990 with a brigade in Germany and the rest of the 

21 division deploying there annually from Fort Riley in 

22 REFORGER exercises that demonstrated United 

23 States capability and resolve until the Cold War 

24 ended; 


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1 (20) the 1st Infantry Division deployed to 

2 Saudi Arabia in 1991 in Operations Desert Shield 

3 and Desert Storm, attacking to breach the Iraqi de4 fenses, racing across the desert with the VII Corps 

5 of the United States Army, destroying the Iraqi Re6 publican Guard Tawakalna Division; 

7 (21) the 1st Infantry Division enforced inter8 national peace agreements in Bosnia for 31 months 

9 between 1996 and 2000, for 4 months in Macedonia 

10 in 1999, and for 22 months in Kosovo between 1999 

11 and 2003; 

12 (22) the 1st Infantry Division deployed to Iraq 

13 in 2004 to 2005 in Operation Iraqi Freedom II, the 

14 initial occupation of Iraq, and helped achieve the 

15 first free and fair elections in the history of Iraq; 

16 (23) the 1st Infantry Division brigade combat 

17 teams and other elements deployed multiple times to 

18 Iraq and Afghanistan between 2003 and 2014; 

19 (24) the 1st Infantry Division provided the first 

20 ‘‘regionally aligned force’’ (RAF) to the United 

21 States Africa Command and provided military as22 sistance to friendly governments across the continent 

23 of Africa; 

24 (25) to combat the growing ISIS threat, the 1st 

25 Infantry Division soldiers have deployed to Iraq and 


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1 Kuwait to assist the Iraqi Security Forces and other 

2 friendly countries in that vital and unstable region; 

3 (26) the 1st Infantry Division will be deployed 

4 to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Korea in 2016 and 2017, 

5 its centennial year; 

6 (27) 35 soldiers from the 1st Infantry Division 

7 have been decorated with the Medal of Honor, and 

8 countless others have distinguished themselves in 

9 combat; 

10 (28) the 1st Infantry Division has earned sev11 eral unit decorations, including 2 Meritorious Unit 

12 Commendations, 3 French Croix de Guerre, 1 Bel13 gian Fourragere, Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gal14 lantry with Palm, 1 Republic of Vietnam Civil Ac15 tion Honor Medal, and was cited twice in the Order 

16 of the Day of the Belgian Army; and 

17 (29) the 1st Infantry Division has served the 

18 United States with great valor and distinction since 

19 its organization, living up to its motto, ‘‘No mission 

20 too difficult, no sacrifice too great—Duty First’’. 

21 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATION. 

22 (a) DENOMINATIONS.—The Secretary of the Treas23 ury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 

24 shall mint and issue the following coins: 


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1 (1) $5 GOLD COINS.—Not more than 20,000 $5 

2 coins, which shall— 

3 (A) weigh 8.359 grams; 

4 (B) have a diameter of .850 inches; and 

5 (C) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent 

6 alloy. 

7 (2) $1 SILVER COINS.—Not more than 100,000 

8 $1 coins, which shall— 

9 (A) weigh 26.73 grams; 

10 (B) have the diameter of 1.50 inches; and 

11 (C) contain not less than 90 percent silver. 

12 (3) HALF-DOLLAR CLAD COINS.—Not more 

13 than 200,000 half-dollar coins which shall— 

14 (A) weigh 11.34 grams; 

15 (B) have a diameter of 1.205 inches; and 

16 (C) be minted to the specifications for half17 dollar coins contained in section 5112(b) of title 

18 31, United States Code. 

19 (b) LEGAL TENDER.—The coins minted under this 

20 Act shall be legal tender, as provided in section 5103 of 

21 title 31, United States Code. 

22 (c) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For the purposes of section 

23 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all coins minted 

24 under this Act shall be considered to numismatic items. 


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1 SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS. 

2 (a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The design of the coins 

4 minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the 

5 100 year anniversary of the 1st Infantry Division. 

6 (2) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On 

7 each coin minted under this Act there shall be— 

8 (A) a designation of the value of the coin; 

9 (B) an inscription of the year 2018; and 

10 (C) inscriptions of the words ‘‘Liberty’’, 

11 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer12 ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 

13 (b) SELECTION.—The design for the coins minted 

14 under this Act shall be— 

15 (1) selected by the Secretary after consultation 

16 with the Society of the 1st Infantry Division and the 

17 U.S. Army Center of Military History; and 

18 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 

19 Committee. 

20 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

21 (a) QUALITY OF COINS.—Coins minted under this 

22 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

23 (b) MINT FACILITY.—Only the West Point Mint may 

24 be used to strike any particular quality of the coins minted 

25 under this Act. 


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1 (c) PERIOD FOR ISSUANCE.—The Secretary may 

2 issue coins minted under this Act only during the 1-year 

3 period beginning on January 1, 2018. 

4 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

5 (1) SALE PRICE.—The coins issued under this 

6 Act shall be sold by the Secretary at a price equal 

7 to the sum of— 

8 (A) the face value of the coins; 

9 (B) the surcharge provided in section 7(a) 

10 with respect to such coins; and 

11 (C) the cost of designing and issuing the 

12 coins (including labor, material, dies, use of ma13 chinery, overhead expenses, marketing, and 

14 shipping). 

15 (2) BULK SALES.—The Secretary shall make 

16 bulk sales of the coins issued under this Act at a 

17 reasonable discount. 

18 (3) PREPAID ORDERS.—The Secretary shall ac19 cept prepaid orders for the coins minted under this 

20 Act before the issuance of such coins. 

21 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—All sales of coins issued under this 

23 Act shall include a surcharge of— 

24 (1) $35 per coin for the $5 coin; 

25 (2) $10 per coin for the $1 coin; and 


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1 (3) $5 per coin for the half-dollar coin. 

2 (b) DISTRIBUTION.—Subject to section 5134(f)(1) of 

3 title 31, United States Code, all surcharges received by 

4 the Secretary from the sale of coins issued under this Act 

5 shall be promptly paid by the Secretary to the Society of 

6 the 1st Infantry Division for renovation of the existing 1st 

7 Infantry Division Memorial located in the District of Co8 lumbia. 

9 (c) AUDITS.—The Society of the 1st Infantry Divi10 sion shall be subject to the audit requirements of section 

11 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States Code, with regard 

12 to the amounts received under subsection (b). 

13 (d) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), 

14 no surcharge may be included with respect to the issuance 

15 under this Act of any coin during a calendar year if, as 

16 of the time of such issuance, the issuance of such coin 

17 would result in the number of commemorative coin pro18 grams issued during such year to exceed the annual 2 

19 commemorative coin program issuance limitation under 

20 section 5112(m)(1) of title 31, United States Code (as in 

21 effect on the date of the enactment of this Act). The Sec22 retary of the Treasury may issue guidance to carry out 

23 this subsection. 

Æ 


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