II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1827 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the American Fighter Aces, collectively, in recognition of their heroic military service and defense of 

our country’s freedom throughout the history of aviation warfare. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 15, 2013 

Mr. MANCHIN (for himself and Mr. INHOFE) 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 the American 

Fighter Aces, collectively, in recognition of their heroic 

military service and defense of our country’s freedom 

throughout the history of aviation warfare. 

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 ‘‘American Fighter Aces 

5 Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

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1 (1) An American Fighter Ace is a fighter pilot 

2 who has served honorably in a United States mili3 tary service and who has destroyed 5 or more con4 firmed enemy aircraft in aerial combat during a war 

5 or conflict in which American armed forces have 

6 participated. 

7 (2) Beginning with World War I, and the first 

8 use of airplanes in warfare, military services have 

9 maintained official records of individual aerial vic10 tory credits during every major conflict. Of more 

11 than 60,000 United States military fighter pilots 

12 that have taken to the air, less than 1,500 have be13 come Fighter Aces. 

14 (3) Americans became Fighter Aces in the 

15 Spanish Civil War, Sino-Japanese War, Russian 

16 Civil War, Arab-Israeli War, and others. Addition17 ally, American military groups’ recruited United 

18 States military pilots to form the American Volun19 teer Group, Eagle Squadron, and others that pro20 duced American-born Fighter Aces fighting against 

21 axis powers prior to Pearl Harbor. 

22 (4) The concept of a Fighter Ace is that they 

23 fought for freedom and democracy across the globe, 

24 flying in the face of the enemy to defend freedom 

25 throughout the history of aerial combat. Americanmaindgalligan on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 born citizens became Fighter Aces flying under the 

2 flag of United States allied countries and became 

3 some of the highest scoring Fighter Aces of their re4 spective wars. 

5 (5) American Fighter Aces hail from every 

6 State in the Union, representing numerous ethnic, 

7 religious, and cultural backgrounds. 

8 (6) Fighter Aces possess unique skills that have 

9 made them successful in aerial combat. These in10 clude courage, judgment, keen marksmanship, con11 centration, drive, persistence, and split-second think12 ing that makes an Ace a war fighter with unique 

13 and valuable flight driven skills. 

14 (7) The Aces’ training, bravery, skills, sacrifice, 

15 attention to duty, and innovative spirit illustrate the 

16 most celebrated traits of the United States military, 

17 including service to country and the protection of 

18 freedom and democracy. 

19 (8) American Fighter Aces have led distin20 guished careers in the military, education, private 

21 enterprise, and politics. Many have held the rank of 

22 General or Admiral and played leadership roles in 

23 multiple war efforts from WWI to Vietnam through 

24 many decades. In some cases they became the high25 est ranking officers for following wars. 

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1 (9) The extraordinary heroism of the American 

2 Fighter Ace boosted American morale at home and 

3 encouraged many men and women to enlist to fight 

4 for America and democracy across the globe. 

5 (10) Fighter Aces were among America’s most6 prized military fighters during wars. When they ro7 tated back to the United States after combat tours, 

8 they trained cadets in fighter pilot tactics that they 

9 had learned over enemy skies. The teaching of com10 bat dogfighting to young aviators strengthened our 

11 fighter pilots to become more successful in the skies. 

12 The net effect of this was to shorten wars and save 

13 the lives of young Americans. 

14 (11) Following military service, many Fighter 

15 Aces became test pilots due to their superior flying 

16 skills and quick thinking abilities. 

17 (12) The American Fighter Aces are one of the 

18 most decorated military groups in American history. 

19 Twenty-two Fighter Aces have achieved the rank of 

20 Admiral in the Navy. Seventy-nine Fighter Aces 

21 have achieved the rank of General in the Army, Ma22 rines, and Air Force. Nineteen Medals of Honor 

23 have been awarded to individual Fighter Aces. 

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1 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

2 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

3 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem4 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

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

6 medal of appropriate design to the American Fighter Aces, 

7 collectively, in recognition of their heroic military service 

8 and defense of our country’s freedom, which has spanned 

9 the history of aviation warfare. 

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

11 award referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the 

12 Treasury (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall 

13 strike the gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and 

14 inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary. 

15 (c) AWARD OF MEDAL.—Following the award of the 

16 gold medal in honor of the American Fighter Aces under 

17 subsection (a), the gold medal shall be given to the Smith18 sonian Institution, where it shall be available for display 

19 or temporary loan to be displayed elsewhere, particularly 

20 at appropriate locations associated with the American 

21 Fighter Aces, and that preference should be given to loca22 tions affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution. 

23 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

24 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

25 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3, at 

26 a price sufficient to cover the costs of the medal, including 

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1 labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead ex2 penses, and amounts received from the sale of such dupli3 cates shall be deposited in the United States Mint Public 

4 Enterprise Fund. 

5 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

6 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck under 

7 this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 

8 of title 31, United States Code. 

9 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 

10 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 

11 struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 

12 items. 

Æ 

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