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[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2561 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2561

To authorize the President to award the Medal of Honor posthumously to 
Paul A. Smithhisler for acts of valor in November 1918 during World War 
                                   I.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 21, 2015

   Mr. Stivers (for himself, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. Tiberi, Mr. Gibbs, Mr. 
  Johnson of Ohio, Ms. Fudge, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Jordan, Mr. Joyce, Mr. 
Chabot, Mr. Wenstrup, Mr. Latta, Mr. Ryan of Ohio, Mr. Renacci, and Mr. 
   Turner) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To authorize the President to award the Medal of Honor posthumously to 
Paul A. Smithhisler for acts of valor in November 1918 during World War 
                                   I.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Paul A. Smithhisler Medal of Honor 
Act''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION FOR POSTHUMOUS AWARD OF THE MEDAL OF HONOR TO 
              PAUL A. SMITHHISLER FOR ACTS OF VALOR DURING WORLD WAR I.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Paul A. Smithhisler was born in Mount Vernon, Ohio, on 
        November 2, 1889, and served in the United States Army during 
        World War I as a sergeant in the Ohio Army National Guard's 
        37th Infantry Division, nicknamed the ``Buckeye Division''.
            (2) In late October 1918, heavily fortified German defenses 
        repelled several Allied attempts to cross the Escaut River in 
        Belgium before the mission was assigned to the 37th Infantry 
        Division.
            (3) In preparation for an attack by the 37th Infantry 
        Division across the Escaut River against the German defenses, 
        the 112th Engineer Regiment of the Division requested 
        volunteers to conduct a reconnaissance of the German positions.
            (4) Aware of the tremendous risk to his life presented by 
        the entrenched German forces, including machine gun positions 
        and artillery, Sergeant Smithhisler volunteered to conduct the 
        reconnaissance mission.
            (5) Just before midnight on November 1, 1918, Sergeant 
        Smithhisler swam the 100-foot wide icy cold water of the Escaut 
        River as Private Frank Burke, another volunteer, remained 
        prepared to assist him if necessary.
            (6) Sergeant Smithhisler successfully mapped the precise 
        location of German machine gun and artillery positions and then 
        swam back to the Allied-held side of the river under heavy 
        fire, which included a barrage of poison gas shells.
            (7) Private Burke came to Sergeant Smithhisler's rescue 
        when he reached the steep river bank, placing a protective mask 
        on Sergeant Smithhisler while exposing himself to toxins that 
        may have contributed to his death from influenza on December 3, 
        1918.
            (8) Sergeant Smithhisler's information was vital to the 
        success of the subsequent Allied attack and the capture of the 
        enemy's defenses.
            (9) For his bravery, Smithhisler was awarded the 
        Distinguished Service Cross and the French Croix de Guerre with 
        Silver Star.
    (b) Waiver of Time Limitations.--Notwithstanding the time 
limitations specified in section 3744 of title 10, United States Code, 
or any other time limitation with respect to the awarding of certain 
medals to persons who served in the Armed Forces, the President may 
award the Medal of Honor posthumously under section 3741 of such title 
to Sergeant Paul A. Smithhisler for the acts of valor during World War 
I described in subsection (a) for which Sergeant Smithhisler originally 
was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
    (c) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that, should 
the President exercise the discretion provided by subsection (b) to 
award the Medal of Honor to Sergeant Paul A. Smithhisler, November 11, 
2018, the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended formal 
hostilities in western Europe during World War I, would be an 
appropriate occasion upon which to make the award.
                                 <all>
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