II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2114 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), commonly known as ‘‘Merrill’s Marauders’’, in recognition of 

their bravery and outstanding service in the jungles of Burma during 

World War II. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 9, 2017 

Mr. ISAKSON (for himself, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. DAINES, Mr. FRANKEN, Mr. 

INHOFE, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mrs. ERNST, Mr. KENNEDY, and Mr. ROUNDS) 

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 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), commonly known as ‘‘Merrill’s 

Marauders’’, in recognition of their bravery and outstanding service in the jungles of Burma during World 

War II. 

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 ‘‘Merrill’s Marauders 

5 Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

3 (1) in August 1943 President Franklin D. Roo4 sevelt and other Allied leaders proposed the creation 

5 of an American ground unit that would engage in a 

6 ‘‘long-range penetration mission’’ in Japanese-occu7 pied Burma to cut off Japanese communications and 

8 supply lines and capture Japanese-held airfield and 

9 town of Myitkyina; 

10 (2) President Roosevelt issued a call for volun11 teers for ‘‘a dangerous and hazardous mission’’, and 

12 the call was answered by approximately 3,000 Amer13 ican soldiers; 

14 (3) the unit composed of the soldiers was offi15 cially designated as the ‘‘5307th Composite Unit 

16 (Provisional)’’ Code Name: ‘‘Galahad’’ and later be17 coming known as ‘‘Merrill’s Marauders’’ named after 

18 its leader, Brigadier General Frank Merrill; 

19 (4) in February 1944, the Marauders began 

20 their approximately 1,000-mile trek through the 

21 dense Burmese jungle with no artillery support and 

22 carried their supplies on their backs or the pack sad23 dles of mules; 

24 (5) over the course of their 5-month trek to 

25 Myitkyina, the Marauders fought victoriously 


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1 against larger Japanese forces through 5 major and 

2 30 minor engagements; 

3 (6) during their march to Myitkyina the Ma4 rauders faced hunger and disease that were exacer5 bated by inadequate aerial resupply drops; 

6 (7) malaria, typhus, and dysentery inflicted 

7 more casualties on the Marauders than the Japa8 nese; 

9 (8) by August 1944 the Marauders accom10 plished their mission, successfully disrupting Japa11 nese supply and communication lines, taking the 

12 town of Myitkyina and the Myitkyina airstrip, the 

13 only all-weather airstrip in Northern Burma; 

14 (9) after taking Myitkyina, only 130 Marauders 

15 out of the original 2,750 were fit for duty and all 

16 remaining Marauders still in action were evacuated 

17 to hospitals due to tropical diseases, exhaustion, and 

18 malnutrition; 

19 (10) for their bravery and accomplishments the 

20 Marauders were awarded the ‘‘Distinguished Unit 

21 Citation’’, later redesignated as the ‘‘Presidential 

22 Unit Citation’’, and a Bronze Star for their service; 

23 and 

24 (11) though Merrill’s Marauders were oper25 ational for only a few months, the legacy of their 


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1 bravery is honored by the United States Army 

2 through the modern day 75th Ranger Regiment, 

3 which traces its lineage directly to the 5307th Com4 posite Unit. 

5 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

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

7 House of Representatives and the President pro tempore 

8 of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the 

9 award, on behalf of the Congress, of a single gold medal 

10 of appropriate design to the 5307th Composite Unit (Pro11 visional), commonly known as ‘‘Merrill’s Marauders’’, in 

12 recognition of their bravery and outstanding service in the 

13 jungles of Burma during World War II. 

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

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

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

17 strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and 

18 inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary. 

19 (c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 

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

21 gold medal referred to in subsection (a) in honor of 

22 the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), who be23 came known as ‘‘Merrill’s Marauders’’, the gold 

24 medal shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, 


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1 where it will be displayed as appropriate and made 

2 available for research. 

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

4 Congress that the Smithsonian Institution should 

5 make the gold medal received under this Act avail6 able for display elsewhere, particularly at other loca7 tions and events associated with Merrill’s Maraud8 ers. 

9 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

10 Under such regulations as the Secretary may pre11 scribe, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

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

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

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

15 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

16 Medals struck pursuant to this Act are national med17 als for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States 

18 Code. 

Æ 


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