Ritchie Boys Congressional Gold Medal Act

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the Ritchie Boys, in recognition of their bravery and dedication and the importance of their contributions to the success of the Allied Forces during World War II. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Ritchie Boys Congressional Gold Medal Act 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) In 1942, the Federal Government ordered that a Maryland National Guard Training Ground be turned into a War Department Military Intelligence Training Center, which was named Camp Ritchie after the late Governor, Albert C. Ritchie. (2) Starting in 1942, more than 19,000 men trained at Camp Ritchie in Maryland and became known as the Ritchie Boys. (3) While the approximately 2,800 refugees who had fled Nazi persecution in Germany and Austria and had come to the United States as enemy aliens (4) The Ritchie Boys included— (A) soldiers of many faiths (including Protestant, Jewish, and Catholic soldiers); (B) both soldiers born in the United States and foreign-born soldiers from more than 70 countries; (C) soldiers with German, Japanese (Nisei), and other language skills; and (D) more importantly, soldiers with general intelligence skills suitable for being trained as order-of-battle specialists, counterintelligence operatives, photo interpreters, psychological warfare experts, and other specialists. (5) During World War II, Ritchie Boys were assigned to every unit of the Army and the Marines as well as to the Office of Strategic Services and the Counter Intelligence Corps. (6) Starting in 1942, the Ritchie Boys were sent as individual specialists to the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force ( SHAEF (7) The Ritchie Boys accompanied the Army on D-Day in Europe as foot soldiers with all Army divisions and as paratroopers with all airborne divisions and were often selected to be the second soldier to land after the commander in order to provide needed immediate interpretation in languages such as French, German, and Italian. (8) The Ritchie Boys served as personal interpreters for General George Patton and other military leaders. (9) The Ritchie Boys served honorably in the Pacific in the assaults on Guadalcanal, Okinawa, Iwo Jima, and the Philippines, including 2 Marine Corps Ritchie Boys who died in the initial landing on Iwo Jima and a Ritchie Boy who was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for bravery. (10) Approximately 140 Ritchie Boys lost their lives during World War II. (11) The Ritchie Boys garnered more than 65 Silver Star Medals and numerous Bronze Star Medals as well as at least 5 Legion of Honor and many Croix de Guerre Medals. (12) Among the 150-man Second Mobile Radio Broadcast Company of the Ritchie Boys, 6 members received the Croix de Guerre Medal and at least 15 received Bronze Star Medals for service and bravery. (13) The Ritchie Boys made significant contributions to the success of the Allied Forces on the Western Front through their knowledge and their skills, as demonstrated by a classified postwar report by the Army finding that the Ritchie Boys were the source of nearly 60 percent of the credible intelligence gathered in Europe during World War II. (14) Many of the Ritchie Boys continued to serve their country following the conclusion of World War II, including through service as translators or interrogators prosecuting war criminals with the Judge Advocate General's Office during trials at Dachau and Nuremberg. (15) The Ritchie Boys include such notable figures as David Rockefeller, Archibald Roosevelt Jr., William Sloane Coffin, Philip Johnson, J.D. Salinger, and William Warfield, as well as Senators John Chafee of Rhode Island and Frank Church of Idaho, and the father of the current senior Senator from Oregon, Ron Wyden. (16) The Ritchie Boys also contributed outside of the military through careers as writers, artists, architects, academics, diplomats, economists, financiers, philanthropists, and psychologists. (17) Because the roles of the Ritchie Boys remained classified for decades, the public generally lacks awareness of their contributions. (18) Camp Ritchie closed in 1998, and a museum and educational center is now being planned for the location. (19) Approximately 200 Ritchie Boys are still living, ranging in age between 95 and 107. 3. Congressional gold medal (a) Presentation authorized The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemoration of the Ritchie Boys, in recognition of their bravery and dedication and the importance of their contributions to the success of the Allied Forces during World War II. (b) Design and striking For the purposes of the presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the Secretary (c) Smithsonian Institution (1) In general Following the award of the gold medal under subsection (a), the gold medal shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where it shall be available for display as appropriate and made available for research. (2) Sense of Congress It is the sense of 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 Ritchie Boys. 4. Duplicate medals The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3, at a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 5. Status of medals (a) National medals The medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 (b) Numismatic items For purposes of section 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 6. Authority to use fund amounts; proceeds of sale (a) Authority To use fund amounts There is authorized to be charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be necessary to pay for the costs of the medals struck under this Act. (b) Proceeds of sale Amounts received from the sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.

Summary: Ritchie Boys Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to commemorate the Ritchie Boys (men who trained at Camp Ritchie, a War Department military intelligence training center) in recognition of their contributions to the success of the Allied Forces during World War II.