I 

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118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1097 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Everett Alvarez, Jr., in recognition 

of his service to the Nation. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 17, 2023 

Mr. PANETTA (for himself and Mr. FALLON) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Everett Alvarez, 

Jr., in recognition of his service to the Nation. 

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 ‘‘Everett Alvarez, Jr. 

5 Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Commander (CDR) Everett Alvarez, Jr., 

9 served with distinction in the Vietnam war and made 

10 historic sacrifices for the United States as the first 


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1 United States pilot to be shot down and captured 

2 during the Vietnam war and the second-longest pris3 oner of war in United States history, surviving over 

4 eight and half years in captivity. 

5 (2) CDR Alvarez was born in Salinas, Cali6 fornia, in 1937, and was the grandchild of Mexican 

7 immigrants. 

8 (3) CDR Alvarez attended Salinas Union High 

9 School and Hartnell College and received a bachelor 

10 of science degree from Santa Clara University. 

11 (4) In 1960, CDR Alvarez joined the United 

12 States Navy and was commissioned as Ensign. 

13 (5) After receiving his commission, CDR Alva14 rez attended flight training at the Naval Air Basic 

15 Training Command in Pensacola, Florida. 

16 (6) In June 1961, CDR Alvarez was trans17 ferred to the Naval Auxiliary Air Station in 

18 Kingsville, Texas, where he trained until December 

19 1961. 

20 (7) CDR Alvarez was promoted to Lieutenant 

21 (junior grade) in April 1962. 

22 (8) In June 1962, CDR Alvarez joined Attack 

23 Squadron 144, nicknamed the ‘‘Roadrunners’’, 

24 which was deployed to the Gulf of Tonkin prior to 


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1 the United States entrance in the Vietnam war in 

2 August 1964. 

3 (9) On August 5, 1964, while flying Operation 

4 Pierce Arrow from the USS Constellation near the 

5 Vietnam-China border, CDR Alvarez’s A–4 Skyhawk 

6 was shot down and he was captured by a Vietnamese 

7 fishing vessel. 

8 (10) Upon capture, CDR Alvarez was taken to 

9 the Ho`a Lo` Prison in Hanoi, known to many former 

10 prisoners as the ‘‘Hanoi Hilton’’. 

11 (11) CDR Alvarez spent his first thirteen 

12 months, eight days, and five hours in isolation. 

13 (12) While at Ho`a Lo`, CDR Alvarez was re14 peatedly beaten and tortured and was fed inedible 

15 meals and suffered malnourishment. 

16 (13) In September 1965, CDR Alvarez was 

17 moved to the ‘‘Briarpatch’’, a prison camp west of 

18 Hanoi, with no electricity or running water. 

19 (14) Despite torture and interrogation, CDR 

20 Alvarez remained loyal to the United States and as21 sisted other American prisoners of war. 

22 (15) CDR Alvarez, with his own actions, en23 couraged and inspired fellow prisoners of war to 

24 ‘‘Return with Honor’’, which meant keeping their in25 tegrity in the face of torture and not cooperating 


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1 with or divulging information to the enemy, so they 

2 could return home having remained loyal to the 

3 United States. 

4 (16) At great risk, CDR Alvarez helped spread 

5 the means of communication, including the tap code 

6 and the mute hand code, to keep up spirits and stay 

7 organized. 

8 (17) On July 6, 1966, CDR Alvarez and 51 

9 other American prisoners of war were forced to 

10 march in the ‘‘Hanoi Parade’’ where he was abused 

11 and attacked by mobs. 

12 (18) CDR Alvarez was released February 12, 

13 1973, after spending 3,113 days in captivity, or 

14 eight years and six months. 

15 (19) Following his release and hospitalization, 

16 CDR Alvarez resumed his Naval service, returning 

17 to Naval Air Station Kingsville for refresher flight 

18 training. 

19 (20) CDR Alvarez attended the U.S. Naval 

20 Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, and re21 ceived a master’s degree in Operations Research and 

22 Systems Analysis in 1976. 

23 (21) CDR Alvarez was inducted into the U.S. 

24 Naval Postgraduate School’s Alumni Hall of Fame 

25 on March 27, 2015. 


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1 (22) CDR Alvarez served in Program Manage2 ment at the Naval Air Systems command in Wash3 ington, DC, from October 1976 until his retirement. 

4 (23) CDR Alvarez retired from the Navy on 

5 June 30, 1980, completing a 20-year Naval career. 

6 (24) In 1983, CDR Alvarez earned his juris 

7 doctor from the George Washington School of Law 

8 and has been admitted to the District of Columbia 

9 bar. 

10 (25) In April 1981, President Ronald Reagan 

11 appointed CDR Alvarez as Deputy Director of the 

12 Peace Corps, where he served until 1982. 

13 (26) In July 1982, President Reagan nomi14 nated CDR Alvarez to be Deputy Administrator of 

15 the Veterans Administration, now known as the De16 partment of Veterans Affairs, serving until 1986. 

17 (27) In February 1987, President Reagan ap18 pointed CDR Alvarez to the Board of Regents of the 

19 Uniformed Services University of the Health 

20 Sciences, where he served for nearly 21 years. 

21 (28) For his service, CDR Alvarez was awarded 

22 the Silver Star Medal, two Legions of Merit, the 

23 Distinguished Flying Cross, two Bronze Star Med24 als, two Purple Hearts, and the Prisoner of War 

25 Medal. 


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1 (29) On September 18, 2012, the United States 

2 Navy Memorial awarded CDR Alvarez the ‘‘Lone 

3 Sailor Award’’. 

4 (30) The people of the United States honor the 

5 sacrifices of CDR Alvarez and his service to our Na6 tion. 

7 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

8 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

9 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem10 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

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

12 medal of appropriate design to Everett Alvarez, Jr., in rec13 ognition of his service to the Nation. 

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

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

16 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec17 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 

18 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec19 retary. The design shall bear an image of, and inscription 

20 of the name of, Everett Alvarez, Jr. 

21 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

22 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

23 bronze of the gold medal struck under section 3, at a price 

24 sufficient to cover the costs of the medals, including labor, 

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


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1 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

2 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—Medals struck under this 

3 Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 

4 31, United States Code. 

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

6 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 

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

8 SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 

9 SALE. 

10 (a) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.—There is 

11 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

12 Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec13 essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck under 

14 this Act. 

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

16 sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 

17 4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 

18 Enterprise Fund. 

Æ 


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