S. 1050 

One Hundred Fifteenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and eighteen 

An Act 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the Chinese-American Veterans 

of World War II, in recognition of their dedicated service during World War II. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Chinese-American World War 

II Veteran Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 

SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

Congress finds that— 

(1) Chinese Americans served the United States in every 

conflict since the Civil War, and distinguished themselves in 

World War II, serving in every theater of war and every branch 

of service, earning citations for their heroism and honorable 

service, including the Medal of Honor; 

(2) Chinese nationals and Chinese Americans faced institutional discrimination in the United States since before World 

War II, limiting the size of their population and their ability 

to build thriving communities in the United States; 

(3) the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to execute certain treaty stipulations relating to Chinese’’, approved May 6, 1882 (commonly 

known as the ‘‘Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882’’) (22 Stat. 58, 

chapter 126), was the first Federal law that broadly restricted 

immigration and a specific nationality, making it illegal for 

Chinese laborers to immigrate to the United States and limiting 

the Chinese population in the United States for over 60 years; 

(4) major court decisions such as the decisions in Lum 

v. Rice, 275 U.S. 78 (1927), and People v. Hall, 4 Cal. 399 

(1854), found ‘‘yellow’’ races to be equal to African Americans 

with regard to ‘‘separate but equal’’ school facilities, and prohibited Chinese Americans, along with ‘‘Black, mulatto, or Indian’’ 

persons, from testifying against White men; 

(5) Chinese Americans were harassed, beaten, and murdered because of their ethnicity, including the Chinese Massacre of 1871, where 17 Chinese immigrants in Los Angeles, 

California, were tortured and murdered, the Rock Springs Massacre of 1885 where White rioters killed 28 Chinese miners 

and burned 75 of their homes in Rock Springs, Wyoming, 

and the Hells Canyon Massacre of 1887 where 34 Chinese 

gold miners were ambushed and murdered in Hells Canyon, 

Oregon; 

(6) there were only 78,000 Chinese Americans living on 

the United States mainland, with 29,000 living in Hawaii, 
S. 1050—2 

at the start of World War II as result of Federal and State 

legislation and judicial decisions; 

(7) despite the anti-Chinese discrimination at the time, 

as many as 20,000 Chinese Americans served in the Armed 

Forces during World War II, of whom, approximately 40 percent 

were not United States citizens due to the laws that denied 

citizenship to persons of Chinese descent; 

(8) Chinese Americans, although small in numbers, made 

important contributions to the World War II effort; 

(9) of the total Chinese Americans serving, approximately 

25 percent served in the United States Army Air Force, with 

some sent to the China-Burma-India Theater with the 14th 

Air Service Group; 

(10) the remainder of Chinese Americans who served in 

World War II served in all branches of the Armed Forces 

in all 4 theaters of war; 

(11) the first all Chinese-American group was the 14th 

Air Service Group in the China-Burma-India Theater which 

enabled extensive and effective operations against the Japanese 

military in China; 

(12) Chinese Americans are widely acknowledged for their 

role in the 14th Air Force, widely known as the Flying Tigers; 

(13) Chinese Americans assigned to the China-Burma-India 

Theater made transoceanic journeys through hostile territories 

and were subject to enemy attack while at sea and in the 

air; 

(14) in the Pacific Theater, Chinese Americans were in 

ground, air, and ocean combat and support roles throughout 

the Pacific including New Guinea, Guadalcanal, Solomon 

Islands, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Philippines, Mariana Islands, and 

Aleutian Islands; 

(15) throughout the Pacific and China-Burma-India theaters, Chinese Americans performed vital functions in translating, coordinating Nationalist Chinese and United States combat operations, servicing and repairing aircraft and armaments, 

training Nationalist Chinese troops and sailors, delivering medical care, providing signal and communication support, gathering and analyzing intelligence, participating in ground and 

air combat, and securing and delivering supplies; 

(16) Chinese Americans also served in combat and support 

roles in the European and African theaters, serving in North 

Africa, Sicily, Italy, the Normandy D–Day invasion, which liberated Western Europe, and the Battle of the Bulge, occupying 

Western Germany while helping to liberate Central Europe; 

(17) Chinese Americans flew bomber missions, served in 

infantry units and combat ships in the Battle of the Atlantic, 

including aboard Merchant Marines convoys vulnerable to submarine and air attacks; 

(18) many Chinese-American women served in the Women’s 

Army Corps, the Army Air Forces, and the United States Naval 

Reserve Women’s Reserve, and some became pilots, air traffic 

controllers, flight trainers, weather forecasters, occupational 

therapists, and nurses; 

(19) Captain Francis B. Wai is the only Chinese American 

who served in World War II to have been awarded the Medal 

of Honor, the highest military award given by the United 

States 
S. 1050—3 

(20) Chinese Americans also earned Combat Infantry 

Badges, Purple Hearts, Bronze Stars, Silver Stars, Distinguished Service Cross, and Distinguished Flying Cross; 

(21) units of the Armed Forces with Chinese Americans 

were also awarded unit citations for valor and bravery; 

(22) the United States remains forever indebted to the 

bravery, valor, and dedication that the Chinese-American Veterans of World War II displayed; and 

(23) the commitment and sacrifice of Chinese Americans 

demonstrates a highly uncommon and commendable sense of 

patriotism and honor in the face of discrimination. 

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

In this Act— 

(1) the term ‘‘Chinese-American Veterans of World II’’ 

includes individuals of Chinese ancestry who served— 

(A) honorably at any time during the period December 

7, 1941, and ending December 31, 1946; and 

(B) in an active duty status under the command of 

the Armed Forces; and 

(2) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the 

Treasury. 

SEC. 4. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

(a) AWARD AUTHORIZED.—The President Pro Tempore of the 

Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall 

make appropriate arrangements for the award, on behalf of Congress, of a single gold medal of appropriate design to the ChineseAmerican Veterans of World War II, in recognition of their dedicated 

service during World War II. 

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

referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary shall strike the gold 

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

(c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTE.— 

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

in honor of the Chinese-American Veterans of World War II, 

the gold medal shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, 

where it shall be available for display as appropriate and made 

available for research. 

(2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress that 

the Smithsonian Institution should make the gold medal 

received under paragraph (1) available for display elsewhere, 

particularly at other locations associated with the ChineseAmerican Veterans of World II or with World War II. 

(d) DUPLICATE MEDALS.—Under regulations that the Secretary 

may promulgate, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

bronze of the gold medal struck under this Act, at a price sufficient 

to cover the cost of the medals, including labor, materials, dies, 

use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 

SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDAL. 

(a) NATIONAL MEDAL.—The gold medal struck under this Act 

shall be a national medal for the purposes of chapter 51 of title 

31, Unites States Code. 
S. 1050—4 

(b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purpose of section 5134 of title 

31, United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall 

be considered to be numismatic items. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.