II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 633 

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

of his service to the United States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 2, 2023 

Mr. PADILLA (for himself and Ms. LUMMIS) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Everett Alvarez, 

Jr., in recognition of his service 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. 

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 Everett Alvarez, Jr. (referred 

9 to in this section as ‘‘CDR Alvarez’’), served with 


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1 distinction in the Vietnam War and made historic 

2 sacrifices for the United States as— 

3 (A) the first United States pilot to be shot 

4 down and captured during the Vietnam War; 

5 and 

6 (B) the second-longest-held prisoner of war 

7 in the history of the United States, surviving 

more than 81 8 ⁄2 years in captivity. 

9 (2) CDR Alvarez was born in Salinas, Cali10 fornia, in 1937 and was the grandchild of Mexican 

11 immigrants. 

12 (3) CDR Alvarez attended Salinas Union High 

13 School and Hartnell College and received a bachelor 

14 of science degree from Santa Clara University. 

15 (4) In 1960, CDR Alvarez joined the Navy and 

16 was commissioned as Ensign. 

17 (5) After receiving his commission, CDR Alva18 rez attended flight training at the Naval Air Train19 ing Command in Pensacola, Florida. 

20 (6) In June 1961, CDR Alvarez was trans21 ferred to the Naval Auxiliary Air Station in 

22 Kingsville, Texas, where he trained until December 

23 1961. 

24 (7) CDR Alvarez was promoted to Lieutenant 

25 Junior Grade in April 1962. 


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

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

3 which was deployed to the Gulf of Tonkin before the 

4 United States entered the Vietnam War in August 

5 1964. 

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

7 Pierce Arrow from the USS Constellation near the 

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

9 was shot down, and he was captured by a Viet10 namese fishing vessel. 

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

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

13 prisoners as the ‘‘Hanoi Hilton’’. 

14 (11) CDR Alvarez spent his first 13 months, 8 

15 days, and 5 hours in isolation. 

16 (12) While at Ho`a Lo`, CDR Alvarez was re17 peatedly beaten and tortured, was fed inedible 

18 meals, and suffered malnourishment. 

19 (13) In September 1965, CDR Alvarez was 

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

21 Hanoi that had no electricity or running water. 

22 (14) Despite torture and interrogation, CDR 

23 Alvarez remained loyal to the United States and as24 sisted other American prisoners of war. 


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1 (15) CDR Alvarez, through his own actions, en2 couraged and inspired fellow prisoners of war to ‘‘re3 turn with honor’’, which meant keeping their integ4 rity in the face of torture and not cooperating with 

5 or divulging information to the enemy, so that they 

6 could return home having remained loyal to the 

7 United States. 

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

9 the means of communication among fellow prisoners 

10 of war, including the tap code and the mute hand 

11 code, to keep up spirits and stay organized. 

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

13 other American prisoners of war were forced to 

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

15 and attacked by mobs. 

16 (18) CDR Alvarez was released on February 

17 12, 1973, after spending 3,113 days, or 8 years and 

18 6 months, in captivity. 

19 (19) Following his release and hospitalization, 

20 CDR Alvarez resumed his service in the Navy, re21 turning to Naval Air Station Kingsville for refresher 

22 flight training. 

23 (20) CDR Alvarez— 

24 (A) attended the Naval Postgraduate 

25 School in Monterey, California, and received a 


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1 master’s degree in operations research and sys2 tems analysis in 1976; and 

3 (B) was inducted into the Alumni Hall of 

4 Fame of the Naval Postgraduate School on 

5 March 27, 2015. 

6 (21) CDR Alvarez served in Program Manage7 ment at the Naval Air Systems command in Wash8 ington, DC, from October 1976 until his retirement. 

9 (22) CDR Alvarez retired from the Navy on 

10 June 30, 1980, after a 20-year career in the Navy. 

11 (23) In April 1981, President Ronald Reagan 

12 appointed CDR Alvarez as Deputy Director of the 

13 Peace Corps, where he served until 1982. 

14 (24) In July 1982, President Reagan nomi15 nated CDR Alvarez to be Deputy Administrator of 

16 the Veterans Administration, now known as the De17 partment of Veterans Affairs, where he served until 

18 1986. 

19 (25) CDR Alvarez earned his juris doctor from 

20 the George Washington University Law School in 

21 1983 and has been admitted to the District of Co22 lumbia bar. 

23 (26) In February 1987, President Reagan ap24 pointed CDR Alvarez to the Board of Regents of the 


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1 Uniformed Services University of the Health 

2 Sciences, where he served for nearly 21 years. 

3 (27) For his service, CDR Alvarez was awarded 

4 the Silver Star Medal, 2 Legions of Merit, the Dis5 tinguished Flying Cross, 2 Bronze Star Medals, 2 

6 Purple Hearts, and the Prisoner of War Medal. 

7 (28) On September 18, 2012, the United States 

8 Navy Memorial awarded CDR Alvarez the ‘‘Lone 

9 Sailor Award’’. 

10 (29) The people of the United States honor the 

11 sacrifices of CDR Alvarez and his service to the 

12 United States. 

13 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

14 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

15 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem16 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

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

18 medal of appropriate design to Everett Alvarez, Jr., in rec19 ognition of his service to the United States. 

20 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of the presen22 tation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of 

23 the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec24 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:10 Mar 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S633.IS S633

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1 blems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by 

2 the Secretary. 

3 (2) IMAGE AND INSCRIPTION.—The gold medal 

4 struck under paragraph (1) shall bear an image of, 

5 and the inscription of the name of, Everett Alvarez, 

6 Jr. 

7 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

8 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

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

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

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

12 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

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

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

15 31, United States Code. 

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

17 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 

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

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

20 SALE. 

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

22 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

23 Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec24 essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck under 

25 this Act. 


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

2 sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 

3 4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 

4 Enterprise Fund. 

Æ 


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