IIB 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3642 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 16, 2021 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

Urban Affairs 

AN ACT 

To award a Congressional gold medal to the 369th Infantry 

Regiment, commonly known as the ‘‘Harlem 

Hellfighters’’, in recognition of their bravery and outstanding service during World War I. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
2 

HR 3642 RFS

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Harlem Hellfighters 

3 Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) When the United States officially entered 

7 World War I in April 1917, the Armed Forces were 

8 still segregated, even though African-American sol9 diers had served and distinguished themselves in 

10 every war since the Revolutionary War, and even the 

11 Colonial Wars preceding the American Revolution. 

12 (2) After several years of advocacy and debate, 

13 in 1916 the State of New York authorized the re14 cruitment of the 15th New York National Guard 

15 Regiment, which was called to Federal service on 

16 July 25, 1917, soon after arriving for training at 

17 Camp Whitman, New York. 

18 (3) The 15th completed its basic military prac19 tice training at Camp Whitman, New York. 

20 (4) To receive combat training, the 15th re21 ported, on October 8, 1917, to Camp Wadsworth, in 

22 Spartanburg, South Carolina, where it experienced 

23 many incidents of racial discrimination. 

24 (5) Consequently, the government agreed to re25 move the 15th from Camp Wadsworth, but, instead 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
3 

HR 3642 RFS

1 of receiving further training, the regiment began 

2 preparing for deployment to France in November. 

3 (6) The 15th arrived in Saint Nazaire, France, 

4 on January 1, 1918, where it was redesignated the 

5 369th Infantry Regiment. 

6 (7) Partly because many White soldiers within 

7 the American Expeditionary Forces (hereinafter, the 

8 ‘‘AEF’’) refused to perform combat duty with Black 

9 soldiers, members of the 369th were initially as10 signed manual labor tasks, such as loading and un11 loading supplies, and constructing roads and rail12 roads. 

13 (8) After receiving pressure from the 369th reg14 imental commander about not having a combat mis15 sion, the AEF attached the 369th to the French 

16 Fourth Army. 

17 (9) By mid-March of 1918, the 369th went to 

18 the Argonne Forest with the French 16th Division 

19 for training and soon entered the trenches. 

20 (10) The 369th encountered its first German 

21 soldiers in combat in April, 1918. 

22 (11) In May of 1918, Private Henry Johnson 

23 of the 369th received the French Croix de Guerre, 

24 with Palm, for extraordinary valor, becoming one of 

25 the first American soldiers to be awarded this honor. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
4 

HR 3642 RFS

1 (12) Johnson also belatedly received a Purple 

2 Heart, was awarded the Distinguished Service 

3 Cross, and in, 2015, was awarded the Medal of 

4 Honor. 

5 (13) Throughout the remainder of the spring 

6 and into the summer the 369th served at Minacourt, 

7 in the Champagne-Marne Defensive, and during the 

8 Aisne-Marne Offensive in support of the French 

9 161st Infantry Division. 

10 (14) As summer turned to autumn, the 369th 

11 went on to participate in the Meuse-Argonne offen12 sive, where it captured the important village of 

13 Sechault despite sustaining severe losses. 

14 (15) On October 14, 1918, the 369th advanced 

15 to Alsace. 

16 (16) On November 20, 1918, the 369th reached 

17 the banks of the Rhine River as part of the French 

18 Army of Occupation, the first Allied unit to do so. 

19 (17) The 369th was relieved of its assignment 

20 with the French 161st Division in December, 1918, 

21 and elements of the regiment sailed for New York 

22 in late January and early February, 1919. 

23 (18) The 369th Infantry Regiment received a 

24 parade up 5th Avenue in New York City on FebVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:02 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3642.RFS H3642

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
5 

HR 3642 RFS

1 ruary 17, 1919, receiving applause and cheers from 

2 hundreds of thousands of onlookers. 

3 (19) The 369th was demobilized on February 

4 28, 1919. 

5 (20) Over 170 individual members of the 369th 

6 received the Croix de Guerre, many were awarded 

7 the Distinguished Service Cross, and the 369th was 

8 awarded a unit citation. 

9 (21) It is generally believed that the 369th was 

10 dubbed the ‘‘Harlem Hellfighters’’ by German sol11 diers, who found the men to be incredibly deter12 mined and courageous in battle. 

13 (22) The 369th was the first regiment of Afri14 can Americans to deploy overseas during World War 

15 I and spent 191 days on the front line in World War 

16 I, more than any other American regimental sized 

17 unit. 

18 (23) The 369th never lost a foot of ground nor 

19 had a man taken prisoner, despite suffering a high 

20 number of casualties. 

21 SEC. 3. 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 gold medal of apVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:02 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3642.RFS H3642

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
6 

HR 3642 RFS

1 propriate design to the 369th Infantry Regiment, com2 monly known as the ‘‘Harlem Hellfighters’’, in recognition 

3 of their bravery and outstanding service during World 

4 War I. 

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

6 award referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the 

7 Treasury shall strike the gold medal with suitable em8 blems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the 

9 Secretary. 

10 (c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 

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

12 gold medal in honor of the 369th Infantry Regiment, 

13 the ‘‘Harlem Hellfighters’’, the gold medal shall be 

14 given to the Smithsonian Institution, where it will be 

15 displayed as appropriate and made available for re16 search. 

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

18 Congress that the Smithsonian Institution should 

19 make the gold medal awarded pursuant to this Act 

20 available for display elsewhere, particularly at other 

21 locations associated with the Harlem Hellfighters. 

22 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may strike and sell 

24 duplicates in bronze of the gold medal struck under sec25 tion 3, at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the bronze 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
7 

HR 3642 RFS

1 medals, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, 

2 and overhead expenses. 

3 (b) PROCEEDS OF SALES.—The amounts received 

4 from the sale of duplicate medals under subsection (a) 

5 shall be deposited in the United States Mint Public Enter6 prise Fund. 

7 (c) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.—There is 

8 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

9 Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec10 essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck under 

11 this Act. 

12 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

13 The gold medal struck pursuant to this Act is a na14 tional medal for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United 

15 States Code. 

16 SEC. 6. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 

17 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 

18 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 

19 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 

20 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 

21 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 

22 by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, proVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:02 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3642.RFS H3642

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
8 

HR 3642 RFS

1 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 

2 vote on passage. 

Passed the House of Representatives June 15, 2021. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS