109TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1035

AN ACT

To authorize the presentation of commemorative medals on

behalf of Congress to Native Americans who served as

Code Talkers during foreign conflicts in which the United

States was involved during the 20th century in recognition of the service of those Native Americans to the

United States.

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Code Talkers Recognition Act’’.
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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of

2 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Expression of recognition.

TITLE I—SIOUX CODE TALKERS

Sec. 101. Findings.

Sec. 102. Congressional commemorative medal.

TITLE II—COMANCHE CODE TALKERS

Sec. 201. Findings.

Sec. 202. Congressional commemorative medal.

TITLE III—CHOCTAW CODE TALKERS

Sec. 301. Findings.

Sec. 302. Congressional commemorative medal.

TITLE IV—SAC AND FOX CODE TALKERS

Sec. 401. Findings.

Sec. 402. Congressional commemorative medal.

TITLE V—GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 501. Definition of Indian tribe.

Sec. 502. Medals for other Code Talkers.

Sec. 503. Provisions applicable to all medals under this Act.

Sec. 504. Duplicate medals.

Sec. 505. Status as national medals.

Sec. 506. Funding.

3 SEC. 2. EXPRESSION OF RECOGNITION.

4 The purpose of the medals authorized by this Act is

5 to express recognition by the United States and citizens

6 of the United States of, and to honor, the Native Amer7 ican Code Talkers who distinguished themselves in per8 forming highly successful communications operations of a

9 unique type that greatly assisted in saving countless lives

10 and in hastening the end of World War I and World War

11 II.
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1 TITLE I—SIOUX CODE TALKERS

2 SEC. 101. FINDINGS.

3 Congress finds that—

4 (1) Sioux Indians used their native languages,

5 Dakota, Lakota, and Dakota Sioux, as code during

6 World War II;

7 (2) those individuals, who manned radio com8 munications networks to advise of enemy actions, be9 came known as the Sioux Code Talkers;

10 (3) under some of the heaviest combat action,

11 the Code Talkers worked around the clock to provide

12 information that saved the lives of many Americans

13 in war theaters in the Pacific and Europe, such as

14 the location of enemy troops and the number of

15 enemy guns; and

16 (4) the Sioux Code Talkers were so successful

17 that military commanders credit the code with sav18 ing the lives of countless American soldiers and

19 being instrumental to the success of the United

20 States in many battles during World War II.

21 SEC. 102. CONGRESSIONAL COMMEMORATIVE MEDAL.

22 The President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the

23 Speaker of the House of Representatives shall make ap24 propriate arrangements for the presentation, on behalf of
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1 Congress, of a commemorative medal of appropriate de2 sign, to each Sioux Code Talker, including—

3 (1) Eddie Eagle Boy;

4 (2) Simon Brokenleg;

5 (3) Iver Crow Eagle, Sr.;

6 (4) Edmund St. John;

7 (5) Walter C. John;

8 (6) John Bear King;

9 (7) Phillip ‘‘Stoney’’ LaBlanc;

10 (8) Baptiste Pumpkinseed;

11 (9) Guy Rondell;

12 (10) Charles Whitepipe; and

13 (11) Clarence Wolfguts.

14 TITLE II—COMANCHE CODE

15 TALKERS

16 SEC. 201. FINDINGS.

17 Congress finds that—

18 (1) the Japanese Empire attacked Pearl Har19 bor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, and Congress

20 declared war on Japan the following day;

21 (2) the military code developed by the United

22 States for transmitting messages had been deci23 phered by the Axis powers, and United States mili24 tary intelligence sought to develop a new means to

25 counter the enemy;
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1 (3) the Federal Government called on the Co2 manche Nation to support the military effort by re3 cruiting and enlisting Comanche men to serve in the

4 United States Army to develop a secret code based

5 on the Comanche language;

6 (4) at the time, the Comanches were—

7 (A) considered to be second-class citizens;

8 and

9 (B) discouraged from using their own lan10 guage;

11 (5) the Comanches of the 4th Signal Division

12 became known as the ‘‘Comanche Code Talkers’’ and

13 helped to develop a code using their language to

14 communicate military messages during the D-Day

15 invasion and in the European theater during World

16 War II;

17 (6) to the frustration of the enemy, the code de18 veloped by those Native Americans—

19 (A) proved to be unbreakable; and

20 (B) was used extensively throughout the

21 European war theater;

22 (7) the Comanche language, discouraged in the

23 past, was instrumental in developing 1 of the most

24 significant and successful military codes of World

25 War II;
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1 (8) the efforts of the Comanche Code Talkers—

2 (A) contributed greatly to the Allied war

3 effort in Europe;

4 (B) were instrumental in winning the war

5 in Europe; and

6 (C) saved countless lives;

7 (9) only 1 of the Comanche Code Talkers of

8 World War II remains alive today; and

9 (10) the time has come for Congress to honor

10 the Comanche Code Talkers for their valor and serv11 ice to the United States.

12 SEC. 202. CONGRESSIONAL COMMEMORATIVE MEDAL.

13 The President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the

14 Speaker of the House of Representatives shall make ap15 propriate arrangements for the presentation, on behalf of

16 Congress, of a commemorative medal of appropriate de17 sign to each of the following Comanche Code Talkers of

18 World War II, in recognition of contributions of those in19 dividuals to the United States:

20 (1) Charles Chibitty.

21 (2) Haddon Codynah.

22 (3) Robert Holder.

23 (4) Forrest Kassanovoid.

24 (5) Willington Mihecoby.

25 (6) Perry Noyebad.
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1 (7) Clifford Otitivo.

2 (8) Simmons Parker.

3 (9) Melvin Permansu.

4 (10) Dick Red Elk.

5 (11) Elgin Red Elk.

6 (12) Larry Saupitty.

7 (13) Morris Sunrise.

8 (14) Willie Yackeschi.

9 TITLE III—CHOCTAW CODE

10 TALKERS

11 SEC. 301. FINDINGS.

12 Congress finds that—

13 (1) on April 6, 1917, the United States, after

14 extraordinary provocations, declared war on Ger15 many and entered World War I, the War to End All

16 Wars;

17 (2) at the time of that declaration of war, In18 dian people in the United States, including members

19 of the Choctaw Nation, were not accorded the status

20 of citizens of the United States;

21 (3) without regard to this lack of citizenship,

22 many members of the Choctaw Nation joined many

23 members of other Indian tribes and nations in enlist24 ing in the Armed Forces to fight on behalf of the

25 United States;
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1 (4) members of the Choctaw Nation were—

2 (A) enlisted in the force known as the

3 American Expeditionary Force, which began

4 hostile actions in France in the fall of 1917;

5 and

6 (B) incorporated in a company of Indian

7 enlistees serving in the 142d Infantry Company

8 of the 36th Division;

9 (5) a major impediment to Allied operations in

10 general, and operations of the United States in par11 ticular, was the fact that the German forces had de12 ciphered all codes used for transmitting information

13 between Allied commands, leading to substantial loss

14 of men and materiel during the first year in which

15 the military of the United States engaged in combat

16 in World War I;

17 (6) because of the proximity and static nature

18 of the battle lines, a method to communicate without

19 the knowledge of the enemy was needed;

20 (7) a commander of the United States realized

21 the fact that he had under his command a number

22 of men who spoke a native language;

23 (8) while the use of such native languages was

24 discouraged by the Federal Government, the com25 mander sought out and recruited 18 Choctaw Indi-
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1 ans to assist in transmitting field telephone commu2 nications during an upcoming campaign;

3 (9) because the language used by the Choctaw

4 soldiers in the transmission of information was not

5 based on a European language or on a mathematical

6 progression, the Germans were unable to understand

7 any of the transmissions;

8 (10) the Choctaw soldiers were placed in dif9 ferent command positions to achieve the widest prac10 ticable area for communications;

11 (11) the use of the Choctaw Code Talkers was

12 particularly important in—

13 (A) the movement of American soldiers in

14 October of 1918 (including securing forward

15 and exposed positions);

16 (B) the protection of supplies during

17 American action (including protecting gun em18 placements from enemy shelling); and

19 (C) in the preparation for the assault on

20 German positions in the final stages of combat

21 operations in the fall of 1918;

22 (12) in the opinion of the officers involved, the

23 use of Choctaw Indians to transmit information in

24 their native language saved men and munitions, and

25 was highly successful;
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1 (13) based on that successful experience, Choc2 taw Indians were withdrawn from frontline units for

3 training in transmission of codes so as to be more

4 widely used when the war came to an end;

5 (14) the Germans never succeeded in breaking

6 the Choctaw code;

7 (15) that was the first time in modern warfare

8 that the transmission of messages in a Native Amer9 ican language was used for the purpose of confusing

10 the enemy;

11 (16) this action by members of the Choctaw

12 Nation—

13 (A) is another example of the commitment

14 of Native Americans to the defense of the

15 United States; and

16 (B) adds to the proud legacy of such serv17 ice; and

18 (17) the Choctaw Nation has honored the ac19 tions of those 18 Choctaw Code Talkers through a

20 memorial bearing their names located at the en21 trance of the tribal complex in Durant, Oklahoma.

22 SEC. 302. CONGRESSIONAL COMMEMORATIVE MEDAL.

23 The President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the

24 Speaker of the House of Representatives shall make ap25 propriate arrangements for the presentation, on behalf of
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1 Congress, of a commemorative medal of appropriate de2 sign honoring the Choctaw Code Talkers.

3 TITLE IV—SAC AND FOX CODE

4 TALKERS

5 SEC. 401. FINDINGS.

6 Congress finds that—

7 (1) Sac and Fox Indians used their native lan8 guage, Meskwaki, to transmit military code during

9 Word War II;

10 (2) those individuals, who manned radio com11 munications networks to advise of enemy actions, be12 came known as the Sac and Fox Code Talkers; and

13 (3) under heavy combat action, the Code Talk14 ers worked without sleep to provide information that

15 saved the lives of many Americans.

16 SEC. 402. CONGRESSIONAL COMMEMORATIVE MEDAL.

17 The President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the

18 Speaker of the House of Representatives shall make ap19 propriate arrangements for the presentation, on behalf of

20 Congress, of a commemorative medal of appropriate de21 sign, to each of the following Sac and Fox Code Talkers

22 of World War II, in recognition of the contributions of

23 those individuals to the United States:

24 (1) Frank Sanache.

25 (2) Willard Sanache.
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1 (3) Dewey Youngbear.

2 (4) Edward Benson.

3 (5) Judie Wayne Wabaunasee.

4 (6) Mike Wayne Wabaunasee.

5 (7) Dewey Roberts.

6 (8) Melvin Twin.

7 TITLE V—GENERAL PROVISIONS

8 SEC. 501. DEFINITION OF INDIAN TRIBE.

9 In this title, the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ has the meaning

10 given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determina11 tion and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 4506).

12 SEC. 502. MEDALS FOR OTHER CODE TALKERS.

13 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—In addition to

14 the commemorative medals authorized to be presented

15 under sections 102, 202, 302, and 402, the President Pro

16 Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of

17 Representatives shall make appropriate arrangements for

18 the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a commemora19 tive medal of appropriate design to any other Native

20 American Code Talker identified by the Secretary of De21 fense under subsection (b) who has not previously received

22 a congressional commemorative medal.

23 (b) IDENTIFICATION OF OTHER NATIVE AMERICAN

24 CODE TALKERS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any Native American mem2 ber of the United States Armed Forces who served

3 as a Code Talker in any foreign conflict in which the

4 United States was involved during the 20th Century

5 shall be eligible for a commemorative medal under

6 this section.

7 (2) DETERMINATION.—The Secretary of De8 fense shall—

9 (A) determine eligibility under paragraph

10 (1); and

11 (B) not later than 120 days after the date

12 of enactment of this Act, establish a list of the

13 names of individuals eligible to receive a medal

14 under paragraph (1).

15 SEC. 503. PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO ALL MEDALS

16 UNDER THIS ACT.

17 (a) MEDALS AWARDED POSTHUMOUSLY.—A medal

18 authorized by this Act may be awarded posthumously on

19 behalf of, and presented to the next of kin or other rep20 resentative of, a Native American Code Talker.

21 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of any presen23 tation of a commemorative medal under this Act, the

24 Secretary of the Treasury shall strike gold medals
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1 with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to

2 be determined by the Secretary of the Treasury.

3 (2) DESIGNS EMBLEMATIC OF TRIBAL AFFILI4 ATION.—The design of the commemorative medals

5 struck under this Act for Native American Code

6 Talkers who are members of the same Indian tribe

7 shall be emblematic of the participation of the Code

8 Talkers of that Indian tribe.

9 SEC. 504. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

10 The Secretary of the Treasury may strike and sell

11 duplicates in bronze of the commemorative medals struck

12 under this Act—

13 (1) in accordance with such regulations as the

14 Secretary may promulgate; and

15 (2) at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the

16 medals (including labor, materials, dies, use of ma17 chinery, and overhead expenses, and the cost of the

18 bronze medal).

19 SEC. 505. STATUS AS NATIONAL MEDALS.

20 Medals struck pursuant to this Act are national med21 als for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States

22 Code.

23 SEC. 506. FUNDING.

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

25 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint
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1 Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as are necessary

2 to strike and award medals authorized by this Act.

3 (b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—All amounts received from

4 the sale of duplicate bronze medals under section 504 shall

5 be deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise

6 Fund.

Passed the Senate September 20, 2006.

Attest:

Secretary.
109TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1035

AN ACT

To authorize the presentation of commemorative

States.service of those Native Americans to the Unitedduring the 20th century in recognition of theconflicts in which the United States was involvedcans who served as Code Talkers during foreignmedals on behalf of Congress to Native Ameri-