II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2101 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the crew of the USS 

Indianapolis, in recognition of their perseverance, bravery, and service 

to the United States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 8, 2017 

Mr. DONNELLY (for himself and Mr. YOUNG) 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, collectively, to the 

crew of the USS Indianapolis, in recognition of their 

perseverance, bravery, and 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 ‘‘USS Indianapolis Con5 gressional Gold Medal Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The Portland-class heavy cruiser USS Indi9 anapolis received 10 battle stars between February 


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1 1942 and April 1945 while participating in major 

2 battles of World War II from the Aleutian Islands 

3 to Okinawa. 

4 (2) The USS Indianapolis was commanded by 

5 Captain Charles Butler McVay III and 1,196 other 

6 crew members when it set sail for the Island of 

7 Tinian on July 16, 1945, to deliver components of 

8 the atomic bomb ‘‘Little Boy’’. The USS Indianap9 olis set a speed record during the portion of the trip 

10 from California to Pearl Harbor and successfully de11 livered the cargo on July 26, 1945. The USS Indi12 anapolis then traveled to Guam and received further 

13 orders to join Task Group 95.7 in the Leyte Gulf in 

14 the Philippines for training. During the length of 

15 the trip, the USS Indianapolis went unescorted. 

16 (3) On July 30, 1945, minutes after midnight, 

17 the USS Indianapolis was hit by 2 torpedoes fired 

18 by the I–58, a Japanese submarine. The resulting 

19 explosion severed off the bow of the ship, sinking the 

20 ship in about 12 minutes. Of 1,196 crew members, 

21 about 900 made it into the water. While a few life 

22 rafts were deployed, most men were stranded in the 

23 water with only a kapok life jacket. 

24 (4) Shortly after 11 a.m. on August 2, 1945, 4 

25 days after the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, 


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1 Lieutenant Wilbur Gwinn was piloting a PV–1 Ven2 tura bomber and accidentally noticed men in the 

3 water who were later determined to be survivors of 

4 the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. Lieutenant 

5 Gwinn alerted a PBY aircraft, under the command 

6 of Lieutenant Adrian Marks, about the disaster. 

7 Lieutenant Marks made a dangerous open-sea land8 ing to begin rescuing the men before any surface 

9 vessels arrived. The USS Cecil J. Doyle was the first 

10 surface ship to arrive on the scene and took consid11 erable risk in using a searchlight as a beacon, which 

12 gave hope to survivors in the water and encouraged 

13 them to make it through another night. The rescue 

14 mission continued well into August 3, 1945, and was 

15 well-coordinated and responsive once launched. The 

16 individuals who participated in the rescue mission 

17 conducted a thorough search, saved lives, and under18 took the difficult job of identifying the remains of, 

19 and providing a proper burial for, those individuals 

20 who had died. 

21 (5) Only 317 men survived the ordeal and the 

22 survivors had to deal with severe burns, exposure to 

23 the elements, extreme dehydration, and shark at24 tacks. 


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1 (6) During World War II, the USS Indianapolis 

2 frequently served as the flagship for the commander 

3 of the Fifth Fleet, Admiral Raymond Spruance, sur4 vived a bomb released during a kamikaze attack 

5 (which badly damaged the ship and killed 9 mem6 bers of the crew), earned a total of 10 battle stars, 

7 and accomplished a top secret mission that was crit8 ical to ending the war. The sacrifice, perseverance, 

9 and bravery of the crew of the USS Indianapolis 

10 should never be forgotten. 

11 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

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

13 House of Representatives and the President pro tempore 

14 of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the 

15 award, on behalf of Congress, of a single gold medal of 

16 appropriate design to the crew of the USS Indianapolis, 

17 in recognition of their perseverance, bravery, and service 

18 to the United States. 

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

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

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

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

23 inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary. 

24 (c) INDIANA WAR MEMORIAL MUSEUM.— 


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

2 gold medal referred to in subsection (a), the gold 

3 medal shall be given to the Indiana War Memorial 

4 Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana, where it will be 

5 displayed as appropriate and made available for re6 search. 

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

8 Congress that the Indiana War Memorial Museum 

9 should make the gold medal received under this Act 

10 available for display elsewhere, particularly at other 

11 locations and events associated with the USS Indi12 anapolis. 

13 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

14 Under such regulations as the Secretary may pre15 scribe, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

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

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

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

19 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

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

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

22 31, United States Code. 

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

24 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 


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1 struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 

2 items. 

Æ 


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