I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9336 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the individuals who 

fought for or with the United States against the armed forces of Imperial 

Japan in the Pacific theater and the impacted Saskinax people on Attu, 

whose lives, culture, and community were irrevocably changed from December 8, 1941, to August 15, 1945. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 9, 2024 

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ (for herself, Ms. STANSBURY, Ms. NORTON, and Ms. 

BROWNLEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on House 

Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the 

individuals who fought for or with the United States 

against the armed forces of Imperial Japan in the Pacific 

theater and the impacted Saskinax people on Attu, whose 

lives, culture, and community were irrevocably changed 

from December 8, 1941, to August 15, 1945. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Defenders of Bataan, 

3 Corregidor, and Attu Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Hours after the attacks on Pearl Harbor, 

7 Hawaii Territory, on December 7, 1941, Imperial 

8 Japanese forces launched coordinated attacks 

9 throughout Asia, striking Malaya, Thailand, Singa10 pore, Shanghai, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and 

11 the United States territories of Guam, Midway Is12 land, Wake Island, and Howland Island. 

13 (2) For the next 7 months, undermanned 

14 United States forces in the Pacific fought with out15 dated weapons, expired ammunition, and without re16 inforcement or resupply to their besieged island 

17 posts. 

18 (3) On the first day of United States participa19 tion in World War II, December 8, 1941, the ‘‘first 

20 to fire’’ in the Philippines at the Imperial Japanese 

21 were the New Mexico National Guardsmen from the 

22 200th and 515th Coast Artillery (AA) regiments, the 

23 successors to the famed ‘‘Rough Riders’’ of the 

24 Spanish-American War, who had only recently ar25 rived in the Philippines where they were stationed at 


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1 Fort Stotsenburg north of Manila with the mission 

2 of defending Clark Field. 

3 (4) Filipino soldiers and civilians valiantly 

4 fought alongside and as part of the United States 

5 Armed Forces and were integral to their war efforts. 

6 (5) By the end of December 1941, all United 

7 States forces on Luzon Island in the Philippines 

8 withdrew to the Bataan Peninsula of the island, 

9 where, for the next 4 months, with neither air nor 

10 sea defenses, an estimated 12,000 United States and 

11 at least 63,000 Filipino troops and 20,000 Filipino 

12 civilians endured siege conditions. 

13 (6) On April 9, 1942, Major General Edward 

14 P. King, Jr. surrendered the United States and Fili15 pino forces on the Bataan Peninsula. The Imperial 

16 Japanese Army forced thousands of troops and civil17 ians to assemble at the port of Mariveles at the tip 

18 of Bataan and other locations along the peninsula 

19 for a 65-mile forced march. This forced trek came 

20 to be known as the ‘‘Bataan Death March’’. 

21 (7) During the Bataan Death March, approxi22 mately 700 people of the United States and 6,000 

23 to 10,000 Filipinos were killed. Survivors were sent 

24 to Camp O’Donnell where 26,000 more Filipino pris25 oners died. 


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1 (8) On May 6, 1942, Lieutenant General Jona2 than Wainwright surrendered the fortress islands of 

3 Corregidor (Fort Mills), Fort Drum, Fort Frank, 

4 and Fort Hughes in Manila Bay. The complete sur5 render of the remaining United States and Filipino 

6 forces in the Philippines occurred on June 9, 1942. 

7 (9) Included in the surrenders in the Phil8 ippines were female nurses of the United States 

9 Army and Navy and the Philippine Army and civil10 ian volunteers who became the first large group of 

11 United States women in combat and, counted with 

12 the Army and Navy nurses surrendered on Guam in 

13 December 1941, comprised the first group of United 

14 States military women taken captive and imprisoned 

15 by an enemy. 

16 (10) On June 7, 1942, the Imperial Japanese 

17 invaded Attu, homeland of the impacted Saskinaxˆ

18 people, who were all subsequently taken prisoner by 

19 the Japanese troops on Attu for 3 months and held 

20 as imprisoned slaves for 3 years and 3 months in 

21 Otaru, Japan. After the war, the impacted Saskinaxˆ

22 people were not allowed to return to Attu. 

23 (11) On May 11, 1943, 12,500 United States 

24 Armed Forces personnel entered Attu, which was oc25 cupied by about 2,500 Japanese military personnel. 


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1 Between this date and May 29, 1943, those brave 

2 members of the United States Armed Forces fought 

3 to reclaim Attu. This victory cost the United States 

4 about 550 of its very finest, who laid down their 

5 lives in the service of their nation. 

6 (12) Between January 1942 and August 1945, 

7 thousands of prisoners of war from the United 

8 States who had survived the surrenders throughout 

9 the Pacific were shipped in unmarked freighters and 

10 vessels. 

11 (13) It is time to recognize the defenders of Ba12 taan, Corregidor, Attu and other places throughout 

13 the Pacific who were ordinary men and women who 

14 found uncommon courage in extraordinary cir15 cumstances. 

16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

18 (1) IMPACTED SASKINAXˆ PEOPLE.—The term 

19 ‘‘impacted Saskinaxˆ people’’ refers to the indigenous 

20 peoples of the Near Islands, which includes Attu and 

21 the westernmost Alaskan islands, who were on the 

22 islands during the period beginning on December 8, 

23 1941, and ending on August 15, 1945. 


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1 (2) INDIVIDUALS WHO FOUGHT FOR OR WITH

2 THE UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘individuals who 

3 fought for or with the United States’’— 

4 (A) includes any individual who— 

5 (i) was in the Pacific theater at any 

6 time during the period beginning on De7 cember 8, 1941, and ending on August 15, 

8 1945; and 

9 (ii)(I) served honorably as a member 

10 of the United States Armed Forces or at 

11 the command of the United States Armed 

12 Forces in the defensive battles in the Pa13 cific from December 8, 1941 to June 9, 

14 1942; or 

15 (II) became a prisoner of war of Im16 perial Japan during World War II until 

17 August 15, 1945, including civilians who 

18 the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces con19 sidered military prisoners of war and re20 ceived veterans status after the war; and 

21 (B) does not include a member of the Pa22 cific Fleet or the Hawaiian Department. 

23 (3) PACIFIC THEATER.—The term ‘‘Pacific the24 ater’’ means Shanghai, the Central Pacific Area, the 

25 Southwest Pacific Area, and the Aleutian Islands. 


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1 (4) RESISTANCE OR BATTLE.—The term ‘‘re2 sistance or battle’’ includes an action in and around 

3 Shanghai, Tientsin, Guam, Wake Island, the Dutch 

4 East Indies, Borneo, the Philippines, Midway Island, 

5 or the Aleutian Islands. 

6 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

7 the Secretary of the Treasury. 

8 SEC. 4. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

9 (a) AWARD AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of the 

10 House of Representatives and the President pro tempore 

11 of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the 

12 collective award, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal 

13 of appropriate design to the individuals who fought for 

14 or with the United States to defend Bataan, Corregidor, 

15 Attu, and other places in the Pacific theater, and to the 

16 impacted Saskinaxˆ people, in recognition of their personal 

17 sacrifice and service during World War II. 

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

19 award under subsection (a), the Secretary shall strike the 

20 gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscrip21 tions, to be determined by the Secretary. 

22 (c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the 

24 gold medal under subsection (a), the gold medal 

25 shall be given to the National Museum of American 


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1 History of the Smithsonian Institution, where it 

2 shall be displayed as appropriate and made available 

3 for research. 

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

5 Congress that the National Museum of American 

6 History of the Smithsonian Institution should make 

7 the gold medal received under paragraph (1) avail8 able for display at other locations, particularly at lo9 cations that are associated with— 

10 (A) the defensive battles of World War II 

11 in the Pacific theater from December 8, 1941, 

12 to August 15, 1945; 

13 (B) the prisoners of war of Imperial 

14 Japan; 

15 (C) the impacted Saskinaxˆ people; and 

16 (D) the defense of the Philippines, Guam, 

17 Wake Island, Midway Island, Java, and the 

18 Aleutian Islands. 

19 SEC. 5. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

20 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

21 bronze of the gold medal struck under section 4, at a price 

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

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


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1 SEC. 6. 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 sections 

6 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 

7 struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 

8 items. 

9 SEC. 7. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 

10 SALE. 

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

12 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

13 Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec14 essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck under 

15 this Act. 

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

17 sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 

18 5 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 

19 Enterprise Fund. 

Æ 


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