II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1727 

To direct the Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of the Navy to 

conduct a review of military service records of Jewish American veterans 

of World War I, including those previously awarded a military decoration, 

to determine whether any of the veterans should be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 18, 2011 

Mr. HELLER (for himself, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. BLUNT, and Mrs. MCCASKILL) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of 

the Navy to conduct a review of military service records 

of Jewish American veterans of World War I, including 

those previously awarded a military decoration, to determine whether any of the veterans should be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, and for other 

purposes. 

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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•S 1727 IS

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘William Shemin Jewish 

3 World War I Veterans Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. REVIEW REGARDING AWARD OF MEDAL OF HONOR 

5 TO JEWISH AMERICAN WORLD WAR I VET6 ERANS. 

7 (a) REVIEW REQUIRED.—The Secretary of the Army 

8 and the Secretary of the Navy shall review the service 

9 records of each Jewish American World War I veteran de10 scribed in subsection (b) to determine whether that vet11 eran should be posthumously awarded the Medal of 

12 Honor. 

13 (b) COVERED JEWISH AMERICAN WAR VETERANS.— 

14 The Jewish American World War I veterans whose service 

15 records are to be reviewed under subsection (a) are the 

16 following: 

17 (1) Any Jewish American World War I veteran 

18 who was previously awarded the Distinguished Serv19 ice Cross, the Navy Cross, or other military decora20 tion for service during World War I. 

21 (2) Any other Jewish American World War I 

22 veteran whose name is submitted to the Secretary 

23 concerned for such purpose by the Jewish War Vet24 erans of the United States of America before the 

25 end of the one-year period beginning on the date of 

26 the enactment of this Act. 


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•S 1727 IS

1 (c) CONSULTATIONS.—In carrying out the review 

2 under subsection (a), the Secretary concerned shall con3 sult with the Jewish War Veterans of the United States 

4 of America and with such other veterans service organiza5 tions as the Secretary considers appropriate. 

6 (d) RECOMMENDATION BASED ON REVIEW.—If the 

7 Secretary concerned determines, based upon the review 

8 under subsection (a) of the service records of any Jewish 

9 American World War I veteran, that the award of the 

10 Medal of Honor to that veteran is warranted, the Sec11 retary shall submit to the President a recommendation 

12 that the President award the Medal of Honor post13 humously to that veteran. 

14 (e) AUTHORITY TO AWARD MEDAL OF HONOR.—A 

15 Medal of Honor may be awarded posthumously to a Jew16 ish American World War I veteran in accordance with a 

17 recommendation of the Secretary concerned under sub18 section (a). 

19 (f) WAIVER OF TIME LIMITATIONS.—An award of 

20 the Medal of Honor may be made under subsection (e) 

21 without regard to— 

22 (1) section 3744, 6248, or 8744 of title 10, 

23 United States Code; and 

24 (2) any regulation or other administrative re25 striction on— 


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•S 1727 IS

1 (A) the time for awarding the Medal of 

2 Honor; or 

3 (B) the awarding of the Medal of Honor 

4 for service for which a Distinguished Service 

5 Cross, Navy Cross, or other military decoration 

6 has been awarded. 

7 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 (1) The term ‘‘Jewish American World War I 

9 veteran’’ means any person who served in the Armed 

10 Forces during World War I and identified himself or 

11 herself as Jewish on his or her military personnel 

12 records. 

13 (2) The term ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ means— 

14 (A) the Secretary of the Army, in the case 

15 of the Army; and 

16 (B) the Secretary of the Navy, in the case 

17 of the Navy and the Marine Corps. 

18 (3) The term ‘‘World War I’’ means the period 

19 beginning on April 6, 1917, and ending on Novem20 ber 11, 1918. 

Æ 


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