I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5990 

To grant the Congressional Gold Medal to the troops who defended Bataan 

during World War II. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 9, 2016 

Mr. BEN RAY LUJA ́N of New Mexico (for himself, Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN

GRISHAM of New Mexico, and Mr. PEARCE) 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 grant the Congressional Gold Medal to the troops who 

defended Bataan 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. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds the following: 

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

6 Hawaii, Imperial Japanese forces launched an at7 tack on the Philippines, cutting off vital lines of 

8 communication to members of the Armed Forces of 


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1 the United States (referred to in this Act as the 

2 ‘‘Armed Forces’’) and Filipino troops in the Far 

3 East under the command of General Douglas Mac4 Arthur. 

5 (2) On December 8, 1941, the 200th Coast Ar6 tillery Regiment, successors to the New Mexico Na7 tional Guardsmen who made up part of the famed 

8 ‘‘Rough Riders’’ of the Spanish-American War, were 

9 the ‘‘first to fire’’. 

10 (3) Despite being cut off from supply lines and 

11 reinforcements, members of the Armed Forces and 

12 Philippine troops quickly executed a plan to delay 

13 the Japanese invasion and defend the Philippines 

14 against that invasion. 

15 (4) By April 1942, troops from the United 

16 States and the Philippines had bravely and staunch17 ly fought off enemy attacks in Bataan for more than 

18 4 months under strenuous conditions that resulted 

19 in widespread starvation and disease. 

20 (5) By maintaining their position and engaging 

21 the enemy for as long as they did, the troops at Ba22 taan were able to change the momentum of the war, 

23 delaying the Japanese timetable to take control of 

24 the Southeast Pacific for needed war materials. Be25 cause of the heroic actions of the defenders of BaVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:40 Sep 13, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5990.IH H5990

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1 taan, members of the Armed Forces and other Allied 

2 forces throughout the Pacific had time to regroup 

3 and prepare for the successful liberation of the Pa4 cific and the Philippines. 

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

6 King, whose troops suffered from starvation and a 

7 lack of supplies, surrendered the soldiers from the 

8 United States and the Philippines into enemy hands. 

9 (7) Over the next week, troops from the Armed 

10 Forces and the Philippines were taken prisoner and 

11 forced to march 65 miles without any food, water, 

12 or medical care in what came to be known as the 

13 ‘‘Bataan Death March’’. 

14 (8) During this forced march, thousands of sol15 diers died, either from starvation, lack of medical 

16 care, sheer exhaustion, or abuse by their captors. 

17 (9) Conditions at the prisoner of war camps 

18 were appalling, leading to increased disease and mal19 nutrition among the prisoners. 

20 (10) The prisoners at Camp O’Donnell died at 

21 a rate of nearly 400 per day because of the poor 

22 conditions of the camp. 

23 (11) On June 6, 1942, the prisoners at Camp 

24 O’Donnell were transferred to Camp Cabanatuan, 

25 north of Camp O’Donnell. 


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1 (12) Nearly 26,000 of the 50,000 Filipino pris2 oners of war died at Camp O’Donnell and survivors 

3 were gradually paroled from September through De4 cember 1942. 

5 (13) Between September of 1942 and December 

6 of 1944, prisoners of war from the Armed Forces 

7 who had survived the horrific death march were 

8 shipped north for forced labor aboard ‘‘hell ships’’ 

9 and succumbed in great numbers because of the 

10 abysmal conditions. Many of those ships were mis11 takenly targeted by Allied naval forces because the 

12 Japanese military convoys were not properly labeled 

13 as carrying prisoners of war. The sinking of the 

14 Arisan Maru alone claimed nearly 1,800 lives of 

15 members of the Armed Forces. 

16 (14) The prisoners who remained in the camps 

17 suffered from continued mistreatment, malnutrition, 

18 lack of medical care, and horrific conditions until 

19 they were liberated in 1945. 

20 (15) The veterans of Bataan represented the 

21 best of the United States and the Philippines, hailed 

22 from various locales across both countries, and rep23 resented true diversity. 

24 (16) Over the subsequent decades, the veterans 

25 of Bataan formed support groups, were honored in 


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1 local and State memorials, and told their stories to 

2 all people of the United States. 

3 (17) The United States Navy has continued to 

4 honor the history and stories of the veterans of Ba5 taan by naming 2 ships after the battle, including 1 

6 ship that is still in service, the USS Bataan (LHD– 

7 5), in memory of their valor and honorable resist8 ance against Imperial Japanese forces. 

9 (18) Many of the survivors of Bataan have died 

10 and those who remain continue to tell their stories. 

11 (19) The people of the United States and the 

12 Philippines are forever indebted to these men for— 

13 (A) the courage and tenacity they dem14 onstrated during the first 4 months of World 

15 War II fighting against enemy soldiers; and 

16 (B) the perseverance they demonstrated 

17 during 3 years of capture, imprisonment, and 

18 atrocious conditions, while maintaining dignity, 

19 honor, patriotism, and loyalty. 

20 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

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

22 House of Representatives and the President pro tempore 

23 of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the 

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

25 of appropriate design to the troops from the United States 


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1 and the Philippines who defended Bataan and were subse2 quently prisoners of war, in recognition of their personal 

3 sacrifice and service during World War II. 

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

5 award under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury 

6 (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike 

7 the gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and in8 scriptions, to be determined by the Secretary. 

9 (c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 

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

11 gold medal under subsection (a) in honor of the pris12 oners of war at Bataan and the troops from the 

13 United States and the Philippines who defended Ba14 taan, the gold medal shall be given to the Smithso15 nian Institution, where it shall be displayed as ap16 propriate and made available for research. 

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

18 Congress that the Smithsonian Institution should 

19 make the gold medal received under paragraph (1) 

20 available for display at other locations, particularly 

21 at locations that are associated with the prisoners of 

22 war at Bataan and the troops from the United 

23 States and the Philippines who defended Bataan. 


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1 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

2 (a) STRIKING OF DUPLICATES.—Under such regula3 tions as the Secretary may prescribe, the Secretary may 

4 strike duplicates in bronze of the gold medal struck under 

5 section 2. 

6 (b) SELLING OF DUPLICATES.—The Secretary may 

7 sell such duplicates under subsection (a) at a price suffi8 cient to cover the costs of such duplicates, including labor, 

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

10 (c) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the 

11 sale of duplicate bronze medals under subsection (b) shall 

12 be deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise 

13 Fund. 

14 SEC. 4. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

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

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

17 31, United States Code. 

18 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section 

19 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 

20 under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 

21 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

22 There is authorized to be charged against the United 

23 States Mint Public Enterprise Fund, an amount not to 

24 exceed $30,000 to pay for the cost of the medal authorized 

25 under section 2. 

Æ 


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