I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2598 

To grant a congressional gold medal to American military personnel who 

fought in defense of Bataan/Corregidor/Luzon between December 7, 1941 

and May 6, 1942. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 21, 2009 

Mr. HEINRICH (for himself, Mr. SESTAK, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. 

RODRIGUEZ, Mr. MASSA, Mr. ALTMIRE, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. 

MCGOVERN, Mr. SPRATT, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. CONNOLLY of 

Virginia, Mr. REYES, Mr. HINCHEY, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. LUJA ́N, Mr. 

TEAGUE, Ms. KOSMAS, Mr. HARE, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. HONDA, Mr. 

CONAWAY, and Mr. FRANKS of Arizona) 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 a congressional gold medal to American military 

personnel who fought in defense of Bataan/Corregidor/ 

Luzon between December 7, 1941 and May 6, 1942. 

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 The Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) On December 7, 1941, Japanese forces at2 tacked Clark Field, Luzon, Philippines Islands. 

3 (2) By May 6, 1942, military personnel from 

4 the United States and the Philippines had bravely 

5 and staunchly fought off enemy attacks for more 

6 than 5 months under strenuous conditions that re7 sulted in starvation and disease. 

8 (3) By maintaining their position and engaging 

9 the enemy for as long as they did, the soldiers at 

10 Bataan were able to redefine the momentum of the 

11 war and provide other United States and Allied 

12 forces throughout the Pacific with time to plan and 

13 prepare for subsequent crucial battles. 

14 (4) On April 9, 1942, then-Brigadier General 

15 Edward King surrendered the combined forces of 

16 the United States and the Philippines on the Bataan 

17 Peninsula into enemy hands. 

18 (5) Over the next week, the soldiers from the 

19 United States and the Philippines were taken pris20 oner and forced to march 65 miles without any food, 

21 water, or medical care in what came to be know as 

22 the Bataan Death March. 

23 (6) During this forced march, thousands of sol24 diers died, either from starvation, lack of medical 

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


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1 (7) Within the first 40 days at Camp 

2 O’Donnell, 1,600 more prisoners from the United 

3 States died. 

4 (8) On May 6, 1942, then-Lieutenant General 

5 Jonathan M. Wainwright surrendered the island for6 tress of Corregidor and its fortified islands into 

7 enemy hands. 

8 (9) Over the next 10 days, prisoners from Cor9 regidor were held in the open, exposed to the ele10 ments with little or no food or water. 

11 (10) They were subsequently transported to the 

12 old Bilibid Prison in Manila and held several more 

13 days until they were loaded into cattle rail cars for 

14 transport, followed by a forced march of over 20 

15 miles to Cabanatuan. 

16 (11) The conditions at the camp were sub17 standard, leading to increased disease and malnutri18 tion among the prisoners. 

19 (12) On June 6, 1942, United States prisoners 

20 were transferred from Camp O’Donnell to Caba21 natuan. 

22 (13) In July 1942, all Filipino prisoners were 

23 paroled. 


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1 (14) The prisoners who remained in the camps 

2 suffered from continued mistreatment, malnutrition, 

3 lack of medical care, and horrific conditions. 

4 (15) In 1945, all prisoners were liberated. 

5 (16) Over the subsequent decades, these pris6 oners formed support groups, were honored in local 

7 and State memorials, and told their story to all peo8 ple of the United States. 

9 (17) Many of these soldiers have now passed 

10 away, and those who remain continue to tell their 

11 story. 

12 (18) The people of the United States are for13 ever indebted to these men for— 

14 (A) the courage they demonstrated during 

15 the first 5 months of World War II in fighting 

16 against enemy soldiers; and 

17 (B) the perseverance they demonstrated 

18 during 3 1/2 years of capture, imprisonment, 

19 and atrocious conditions, while maintaining dig20 nity, honor, patriotism, and loyalty. 

21 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

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

23 House of Representatives and the President pro tempore 

24 of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the 

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


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1 of appropriate design in honor of the soldiers from the 

2 United States who were prisoners of war at Bataan/Cor3 regidor/Luzon, collectively, in recognition of their personal 

4 sacrifice and service to their country. 

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

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

7 (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall 

8 strike the gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and 

9 inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary. 

10 (c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 

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

12 gold medal in honor of the prisoners of war at Ba13 taan/Corregidor/Luzon under subsection (a), the 

14 gold medal shall be given to the Smithsonian Insti15 tution, where it shall be displayed as appropriate 

16 and made available for research. 

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

18 of the Congress that the Smithsonian Institution 

19 should make the gold medal received under para20 graph (1) available for display at other locations, 

21 particularly such locations as are associated with 

22 those who fought in defense of Bataan/Corregidor/ 

23 Luzon and the prisoners of war. 


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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 SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS. 

11 Medals struck pursuant to this Act are National med12 als for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States 

13 Code. 

14 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; PROCEEDS 

15 OF SALE. 

16 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

17 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

18 Public Enterprise Fund, an amount not to exceed $30,000 

19 to pay for the cost of the medal authorized under section 

20 2. 

21 (b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the 

22 sale of duplicate bronze medals under section 3 shall be 

23 deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise 

24 Fund. 

Æ 


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