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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1055 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1055

   To grant the congressional gold medal, collectively, to the 100th 
Infantry Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, United States 
  Army, in recognition of their dedicated service during World War II.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 14, 2009

  Mrs. Boxer (for herself, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Akaka, and Mrs. Feinstein) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
            Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
   To grant the congressional gold medal, collectively, to the 100th 
Infantry Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, United States 
  Army, in recognition of their dedicated service during World War II.

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

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) On January 19, 1942, 6 weeks after the December 7, 
        1941, attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese Navy, the United 
        States Army discharged all Japanese-Americans in the Reserve 
        Officers Training Corps and changed their draft status to 
        ``4C''--the status of ``enemy alien'' which is ineligible for 
        the draft.
            (2) On January 23, 1942, Japanese-Americans in the military 
        on the mainland were segregated out of their units.
            (3) Further, on May 3, 1942, General John L. DeWitt issued 
        Civilian Exclusion Order No. 346, ordering all people of 
        Japanese ancestry, whether citizens or noncitizens, to report 
        to assembly centers, where they would live until being moved to 
        permanent relocation centers.
            (4) On June 5, 1942, 1,432 predominantly Nisei (second 
        generation Americans of Japanese ancestry) members of the 
        Hawaii Provisional Infantry Battalion were shipped from the 
        Hawaiian Islands to Oakland, CA, where the 100th Infantry 
        Battalion was activated on June 12, 1942, and then shipped to 
        train at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin.
            (5) The excellent training record of the 100th Infantry 
        Battalion and petitions from prominent civilian and military 
        personnel helped convince President Roosevelt and the War 
        Department to reopen military service to Nisei volunteers who 
        were incorporated into the 442nd Regimental Combat Team after 
        it was activated in February of 1943.
            (6) In that same month, the 100th Infantry Battalion was 
        transferred to Camp Shelby, Mississippi, where it continued to 
        train, and even though the battalion was ready to deploy 
        shortly thereafter, the battalion was refused by General 
        Eisenhower, due to concerns over the loyalty and patriotism of 
        the Nisei.
            (7) The 442nd Regimental Combat Team later trained with the 
        100th Infantry Battalion at Camp Shelby in May of 1943.
            (8) Eventually, the 100th Infantry Battalion was deployed 
        to the Mediterranean and entered combat in Italy on September 
        26, 1943.
            (9) Due to their bravery and valor, members of the 
        Battalion were honored with 6 awards of the Distinguished 
        Service Cross in the first 8 weeks of combat.
            (10) The 100th Battalion fought at Cassino, Italy in 
        January 1944, and later accompanied the 34th Infantry Division 
        to Anzio, Italy.
            (11) The 442nd Regimental Combat Team arrived in 
        Civitavecchia, Italy on June 7, 1944, and on June 15 of the 
        following week, the 100th Infantry Battalion was formally made 
        an integral part of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and 
        fought for the last 11 months of the war with distinction in 
        Italy, southern France, and Germany.
            (12) The battalion was awarded the Presidential Unit 
        Citation for its actions in battle on June 26-27, 1944.
            (13) The 442nd Regimental became the most decorated unit in 
        United States military history for its size and length of 
        service.
            (14) The 100th Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat 
        Team, received 7 Presidential Unit Citations, 21 Medals of 
        Honor, 29 Distinguished Service Crosses, 560 Silver Stars, 
        4,000 Bronze Stars, 22 Legion of Merit Medals, 15 Soldier's 
        Medals, and over 4,000 Purple Hearts, among numerous additional 
        distinctions.
            (15) The United States remains forever indebted to the 
        bravery, valor, and dedication to country these men faced while 
        fighting a 2-fronted battle of discrimination at home and 
        fascism abroad.
            (16) Their commitment and sacrifice demonstrates a highly 
        uncommon and commendable sense of patriotism and honor.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

    (a) Award Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of Representatives 
and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate 
arrangements for the award, on behalf of the Congress, of a single gold 
medal of appropriate design to the 100th Infantry Battalion and the 
442nd Regimental Combat Team, United States Army, collectively, in 
recognition of their dedicated service during World War II.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes of the award referred to 
in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act 
referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall strike the gold medal with 
suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the 
Secretary.
    (c) Smithsonian Institution.--
            (1) In general.--Following the award of the gold medal in 
        honor of the 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442nd Regimental 
        Combat Team, United States Army, under subsection (a), the gold 
        medal shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where it 
        will be displayed as appropriate and made available for 
        research.
            (2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of the Congress 
        that the Smithsonian Institution should make the gold medal 
        received under paragraph (1) available for display elsewhere, 
        particularly at other appropriate locations associated with the 
        100th Infantry Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, 
        United States Army.

SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

    Under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, the 
Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal 
struck under section 2, at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the 
medals, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and 
overhead expenses.

SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS.

    Medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals for purposes 
of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.

    (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund, an 
amount not to exceed $30,000 to pay for the cost of the medal 
authorized under section 2.
    (b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of duplicate 
bronze medals under section 3 shall be deposited in the United States 
Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
                                 <all>
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