II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1218 

To require the review of the service of certain members of the Armed Forces 

during World War I to determine if such members should be awarded 

the Medal of Honor, to authorize the award of the Medal of Honor 

based on the results of the review, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 11, 2019 

Mr. VAN HOLLEN (for himself, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina, 

Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and Ms. DUCKWORTH) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To require the review of the service of certain members 

of the Armed Forces during World War I to determine 

if such members should be awarded the Medal of Honor, 

to authorize the award of the Medal of Honor based 

on the results of the review, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘World War I Valor 

5 Medals Review Act’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
2 

•S 1218 IS

1 SEC. 2. REVIEW ON AWARD OF THE MEDAL OF HONOR TO 

2 CERTAIN WORLD WAR I VETERANS. 

3 (a) REVIEW REQUIRED.—Each Secretary concerned 

4 shall review the service records of each World War I vet5 eran described in subsection (b) under the jurisdiction of 

6 such Secretary who is recommended for such review by 

7 the Valor Medals Review Task Force referred to in sub8 section (c), or another veterans service organization, in 

9 order to determine whether such veteran should be award10 ed the Medal of Honor for valor during World War I. 

11 (b) COVERED WORLD WAR I VETERANS.—The 

12 World War I veterans whose service records are to be re13 viewed under subsection (a) are the following: 

14 (1) Any African American war veteran, Asian 

15 American war veteran, Hispanic American war vet16 eran, Jewish American war veteran, or Native Amer17 ican war veteran who was awarded the Distinguished 

18 Service Cross or the Navy Cross for an action that 

19 occurred between April 6, 1917, and November 11, 

20 1918. 

21 (2) Any African American war veteran, Asian 

22 American war veteran, Hispanic American war vet23 eran, Jewish American war veteran, or Native Amer24 ican war veteran who was awarded the Croix de 

25 Guerre with Palm (that is, awarded at the Army 

26 level or above) by the Government of France for an 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
3 

•S 1218 IS

1 action that occurred between April 6, 1917, and No2 vember 11, 1918. 

3 (3) Any African American war veteran, Asian 

4 American war veteran, Hispanic American war vet5 eran, Jewish American war veteran, or Native Amer6 ican war veteran who was recommended for a Medal 

7 of Honor for an action that occurred from April 6, 

8 1917, to November 11, 1918. 

9 (c) CONSULTATIONS.—In carrying out the review 

10 under subsection (a), each Secretary concerned shall con11 sult at least once each fiscal year quarter with the Valor 

12 Medals Review Task Force, jointly established by the 

13 United States Foundation for the Commemoration of the 

14 World Wars (in consultation with the United States World 

15 War One Centennial Commission) and the George S. Robb 

16 Centre for the Study of the Great War, and with such 

17 other veterans service organizations as such Secretary 

18 considers appropriate, until the conclusion of the review. 

19 (d) RECOMMENDATION BASED ON REVIEW.—If a 

20 Secretary concerned determines, based upon the review 

21 under subsection (a), that the award of the Medal of 

22 Honor to a covered World War I veteran is warranted, 

23 such Secretary shall submit to the President a rec24 ommendation that the President award the Medal of 

25 Honor to that veteran. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
4 

•S 1218 IS

1 (e) AUTHORITY TO AWARD MEDAL OF HONOR.—The 

2 Medal of Honor may be awarded to a World War I veteran 

3 in accordance with a recommendation of a Secretary con4 cerned under subsection (d). 

5 (f) WAIVER OF TIME LIMITATIONS.—An award of 

6 the Medal of Honor may be made under subsection (e) 

7 without regard to— 

8 (1) section 7274 or 8298 of title 10, United 

9 States Code, as applicable; and 

10 (2) any regulation or other administrative re11 striction on— 

12 (A) the time for awarding the Medal of 

13 Honor; or 

14 (B) the awarding of the Medal of Honor 

15 for service for which a Distinguished Service 

16 Cross or Navy Cross has been awarded. 

17 (g) DEFINITIONS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—In this section: 

19 (A) The term ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ 

20 means— 

21 (i) the Secretary of the Army, in the 

22 case of members of the Armed Forces who 

23 served in the Army between April 6, 1917, 

24 and November 11, 1918; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
5 

•S 1218 IS

1 (ii) the Secretary of the Navy, in the 

2 case of members of the Armed Forces who 

3 served in the Navy or the Marine Corps 

4 between April 6, 1917, and November 11, 

5 1918. 

6 (B) The term ‘‘African American war vet7 eran’’ means any person who served in the 

8 United States Armed Forces between April 6, 

9 1917, and November 11, 1918, and who identi10 fied himself as of African descent on his mili11 tary personnel records. 

12 (C) The term ‘‘Asian American war vet13 eran’’ means any person who served in the 

14 United States Armed Forces between April 6, 

15 1917, and November 11, 1918, and who identi16 fied himself racially, nationally, or ethnically as 

17 originating from a country in Asia on his mili18 tary personnel records. 

19 (D) The term ‘‘Hispanic American war 

20 veteran’’ means any person who served in the 

21 United States Armed Forces between April 6, 

22 1917, and November 11, 1918, and who identi23 fied himself racially, nationally, or ethnically as 

24 originating from a country where Spanish is an 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
6 

•S 1218 IS

1 official language on his military personnel 

2 records. 

3 (E) The term ‘‘Jewish American war vet4 eran’’ mean any person who served in the 

5 United States Armed Forces between April 6, 

6 1917, and November 11, 1918, and who identi7 fied himself as Jewish on his military personnel 

8 records. 

9 (F) The term ‘‘Native American war vet10 eran’’ means any person who served in the 

11 United States Armed Forces between April 6, 

12 1917, and November 11, 1918, and who identi13 fied himself as a member of a federally recog14 nized tribe within the modern territory of the 

15 United States on his military personnel records. 

16 (2) APPLICATION OF DEFINITIONS OF ORI17 GIN.—If the military personnel records of a person 

18 do not reflect the person’s membership in one of the 

19 groups identified in subparagraphs (B) through (F) 

20 of paragraph (1) but historical evidence exists that 

21 demonstrates the person’s Jewish faith held at the 

22 time of service, or that the person identified himself 

23 as of African, Asian, Hispanic, or Native American 

24 descent, the person may be treated as being a mem25 ber of the applicable group by the Secretary conVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1218.IS S1218

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
7 

•S 1218 IS

1 cerned (in consultation with the organizations re2 ferred to in subsection (c)) for purposes of this sec3 tion. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS