PUBLIC LAW 109–213—APR. 11, 2006

CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL TO THE

TUSKEGEE AIRMEN

120 STAT. 322 PUBLIC LAW 109–213—APR. 11, 2006

Public Law 109–213

109th Congress

An Act

To award a congressional gold medal on behalf of the Tuskegee Airmen, collectively,

in recognition of their unique military record, which inspired revolutionary reform

in the Armed Forces.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds the following:

(1) In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt overruled

his top generals and ordered the creation of an all Black flight

training program. President Roosevelt took this action one day

after the NAACP filed suit on behalf of Howard University

student Yancy Williams and others in Federal court to force

the Department of War to accept Black pilot trainees. Yancy

Williams had a civilian pilot’s license and had earned an

engineering degree. Years later, Major Yancy Williams participated in an air surveillance project created by President Dwight

D. Eisenhower.

(2) Due to the rigid system of racial segregation that prevailed in the United States during World War II, Black military

pilots were trained at a separate airfield built near Tuskegee,

Alabama. They became known as the ‘‘Tuskegee Airmen’’.

(3) The Tuskegee Airmen inspired revolutionary reform

in the Armed Forces, paving the way for full racial integration

in the Armed Forces. They overcame the enormous challenges

of prejudice and discrimination, succeeding, despite obstacles

that threatened failure.

(4) From all accounts, the training of the Tuskegee Airmen

was an experiment established to prove that so-called ‘‘coloreds’’

were incapable of operating expensive and complex combat

aircraft. Studies commissioned by the Army War College

between 1924 and 1939 concluded that Blacks were unfit for

leadership roles and incapable of aviation. Instead, the

Tuskegee Airmen excelled.

(5) Overall, some 992 Black pilots graduated from the

pilot training program of the Tuskegee Army Air Field, with

the last class finishing in June 1946, 450 of whom served

in combat. The first class of cadets began in July 1941 with

13 airmen, all of whom had college degrees, some with Ph.D.

degrees, and all of whom had pilot’s licenses. One of the graduates was Captain Benjamin O. Davis Jr., a United States

Military Academy graduate. Four aviation cadets were commissioned as second lieutenants, and 5 received Army Air Corps

silver pilot wings.

Benjamin O.

Davis, Jr.

Yancy Williams.

31 USC 5111

note.

Apr. 11, 2006

[H.R. 1259]

PUBLIC LAW 109–213—APR. 11, 2006 120 STAT. 323

(6) That the experiment achieved success rather than the

expected failure is further evidenced by the eventual promotion

of 3 of these pioneers through the commissioned officer ranks

to flag rank, including the late General Benjamin O. Davis,

Jr., United States Air Force, the late General Daniel ‘‘Chappie’’

James, United States Air Force, our Nation’s first Black 4-

star general, and Major General Lucius Theus, United States

Air Force (retired).

(7) 450 Black fighter pilots under the command of then

Colonel Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., fought in World War II aerial

battles over North Africa, Sicily, and Europe, flying, in succession, P–40, P–39, P–47, and P–51 aircraft. These gallant men

flew 15,553 sorties and 1,578 missions with the 12th Tactical

Air Force and the 15th Strategic Air Force.

(8) Colonel Davis later became the first Black flag officer

of the United States Air Force, retired as a 3-star general,

and was honored with a 4th star in retirement by President

William J. Clinton.

(9) German pilots, who both feared and respected the

Tuskegee Airmen, called them the ‘‘Schwartze Vogelmenschen’’

(or ‘‘Black Birdmen’’). White American bomber crews reverently

referred to them as the ‘‘Black Redtail Angels’’, because of

the bright red painted on the tail assemblies of their fighter

aircraft and because of their reputation for not losing bombers

to enemy fighters as they provided close escort for bombing

missions over strategic targets in Europe.

(10) The 99th Fighter Squadron, after having distinguished

itself over North Africa, Sicily, and Italy, joined 3 other Black

squadrons, the 100th, the 301st, and the 302nd, designated

as the 332nd Fighter Group. They then comprised the largest

fighter unit in the 15th Air Force. From Italian bases, they

destroyed many enemy targets on the ground and at sea,

including a German destroyer in strafing attacks, and they

destroyed numerous enemy aircraft in the air and on the

ground.

(11) 66 of these pilots were killed in combat, while another

32 were either forced down or shot down and captured to

become prisoners of war. These Black airmen came home with

150 Distinguished Flying Crosses, Bronze Stars, Silver Stars,

and Legions of Merit, one Presidential Unit Citation, and the

Red Star of Yugoslavia.

(12) Other Black pilots, navigators, bombardiers and crewman who were trained for medium bombardment duty as the

477th Bomber Group (Medium) were joined by veterans of

the 332nd Fighter Group to form the 477th Composite Group,

flying the B–25 and P–47 aircraft. The demands of the members

of the 477th Composite Group for parity in treatment and

for recognition as competent military professionals, combined

with the magnificent wartime records of the 99th Fighter

Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group, led to a review of

the racial policies of the Department of War.

(13) In September 1947, the United States Air Force, as

a separate service, reactivated the 332d Fighter Group under

the Tactical Air command. Members of the 332d Fighter Group

were ‘‘Top Guns’’ in the 1st annual Air Force Gunnery Meet

in 1949.

Daniel James.

Lucius Theus.

120 STAT. 324 PUBLIC LAW 109–213—APR. 11, 2006

(14) For every Black pilot, there were 12 other civilian

or military Black men and women performing ground support

duties. Many of these men and women remained in the military

service during the post-World War II era and spearheaded

the integration of the Armed Forces of the United States.

(15) Major achievements are attributed to many of those

who returned to civilian life and earned leadership positions

and respect as businessmen, corporate executives, religious

leaders, lawyers, doctors, educators, bankers, and political

leaders.

(16) A period of nearly 30 years of anonymity for the

Tuskegee Airmen was ended in 1972 with the founding of

Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., in Detroit, Michigan. Organized as a

non-military and nonprofit entity, Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., exists

primarily to motivate and inspire young Americans to become

participants in our Nation’s society and its democratic process,

and to preserve the history of their legacy.

(17) The Tuskegee Airmen have several memorials in place

to perpetuate the memory of who they were and what they

accomplished, including—

(A) the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., National Scholarship

Fund for high school seniors who excel in mathematics,

but need financial assistance to begin a college program;

(B) a museum in historic Fort Wayne in Detroit,

Michigan;

(C) Memorial Park at the Air Force Museum at WrightPatterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio;

(D) a statue of a Tuskegee Airman in the Honor Park

at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado

Springs, Colorado; and

(E) a National Historic Site at Moton Field, where

primary flight training was performed under contract with

the Tuskegee Institute.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

(a) AWARD AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall

make appropriate arrangements for the award, on behalf of the

Congress, of a single gold medal of appropriate design in honor

of the Tuskegee Airmen, collectively, in recognition of their unique

military record, which inspired revolutionary reform in the Armed

Forces.

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

referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter

in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike the gold

medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary.

(c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the gold medal

in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen under subsection (a), the

gold medal shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where

it will be displayed as appropriate and made available for

research.

(2) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the Congress that the Smithsonian Institution should make the gold

Tuskegee

Airmen, Inc.

PUBLIC LAW 109–213—APR. 11, 2006 120 STAT. 325

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 1259 (S. 392):

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 152 (2006):

Feb. 28, considered and passed House.

Mar. 27, considered and passed Senate.

Æ

medal received under paragraph (1) available for display elsewhere, particularly at other appropriate locations associated

with the Tuskegee Airmen.

SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

Under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, the

Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold

medal struck under section 2, at a price sufficient to cover the

costs of the medals, including labor, materials, dies, use of

machinery, and overhead expenses.

SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS.

Medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals for

purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.

(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is authorized

to be charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise

Fund, an amount not to exceed $30,000 to pay for the cost of

the medals authorized under section 2.

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

duplicate bronze medals under section 3 shall be deposited in the

United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.

Approved April 11, 2006.