SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was 
America’s first effort to implement a system of stra-
tegic intelligence during World War II and provided 
the basis for the modern-day American intelligence 
and special operations communities. 
(2) OSS founder General William J. Donovan is 
the only person in American history to receive our 
Nation’s four highest military decorations, including 
the Medal of Honor. Upon learning of his death in 
1959, President Eisenhower called General Donovan 
the ‘‘last hero’’. In addition to founding and leading 
the OSS, General Donovan was also selected by 
President Roosevelt, who called him his ‘‘secret 
legs’’, as an emissary to Great Britain and conti-
nental Europe before the United States entered 
World War II. 
(3) All the military branches during World War 
II contributed personnel to the OSS. The present- 
day Special Operations Forces trace their lineage to 
the OSS. Its Maritime Unit was a precursor to the 
U.S. Navy SEALs. The OSS Operational Groups 
and Jedburghs were forerunners to U.S. Army Spe-
cial Forces. The 801st/492nd Bombardment Group 
(‘‘Carpetbaggers’’) were progenitors to the Air Force 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
18:25 Nov 21, 2013
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3544.IH
H3544
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
Special Operations Command. The Marines who 
served in the OSS, including the actor Sterling Hay-
den and Col. William Eddy, whom General Donovan 
described as the ‘‘American Lawrence of Arabia’’, 
were predecessors to the Marines Special Operations 
Command. U.S. Coast Guard personnel were re-
cruited for the Maritime Unit and the Operational 
Swimmer Group. 
(4) The OSS organized, trained, supplied, and 
fought with resistance organizations throughout Eu-
rope and Asia that played an important role in 
America’s victory during World War II. President 
Eisenhower credited the work of the OSS with the 
French Resistance during the liberation of France 
as the equivalent of having an extra division. 
(5) Four future directors of central intelligence 
served as OSS officers: William Casey, William 
Colby, Allen Dulles, and Richard Helms. 
(6) Women comprised more than one-third of 
OSS personnel and played a critical role in the orga-
nization. They included Virginia Hall, the only civil-
ian female to receive a Distinguished Service Cross 
in World War II, and Julia Child. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
18:25 Nov 21, 2013
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3544.IH
H3544
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(7) OSS recruited Fritz Kolbe, a German dip-
lomat who became America’s most important spy 
against the Nazis in World War II. 
(8) America’s leading scientists and scholars 
served in the OSS Research and Analysis Branch, 
including Ralph Bunche, the first African-American 
to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, Pulitzer Prize-win-
ning historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., Supreme 
Court Justice Arthur Goldberg, Sherman Kent, 
John King Fairbank, and Walt Rostow. It ranks in-
cluded seven future presidents of the American His-
torical Association, five of the American Economic 
Association, and two Nobel laureates. The U.S. De-
partment of State’s Bureau of Intelligence and Re-
search traces its creation to the OSS Research and 
Analysis Branch. 
(9) The OSS invented and employed new tech-
nology through its Research and Development 
Branch, inventing new weapons and revolutionary 
communications 
equipment. 
Dr. 
Christian 
Lambertsen invented the first underwater re-
breathing apparatus that was first utilized by the 
OSS and is known today as SCUBA. 
(10) OSS Detachment 101 operated in Burma 
and pioneered the art of unconventional warfare. It 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
18:25 Nov 21, 2013
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3544.IH
H3544
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
was the first United States unit to deploy a large 
guerrilla army deep in enemy territory. It has been 
credited with the highest kill/loss ratio for any infan-
try-type unit in American military history and was 
awarded a Presidential Unit Citation. 
(11) Its X–2 branch pioneered counterintel-
ligence with the British and established the modern 
counterintelligence community. The network of con-
tacts built by the OSS with foreign intelligence serv-
ices lead to enduring Cold War alliances. 
(12) Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of 
French North Africa in November 1942, was aided 
by the networks established and information ac-
quired by the OSS to guide Allied landings. 
(13) OSS Operation Halyard rescued more 
than 500 downed airmen trapped behind enemy lines 
in Yugoslavia, one of the most daring and successful 
rescue operations of World War II. 
(14) OSS ‘‘Mercy Missions’’ at the end of 
World War II saved the lives of thousands of Allied 
prisoners of war whom it was feared would be mur-
dered by the Japanese. 
(15) The handful of surviving men and women 
of the OSS, whom General Donovan called his ‘‘glo-
rious amateurs’’, are among the greatest generation. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
22:00 Nov 21, 2013
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3544.IH
H3544
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
They have never been collectively recognized for 
their heroic and pioneering service in World War II. 
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 
(a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 
the House of Representatives and the President pro tem-
pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 
for the presentation, on behalf of the Congress, of a gold 
medal of appropriate design in commemoration to the 
members of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), in rec-
ognition of their superior service and major contributions 
during World War II. 
(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the 
presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 
of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec-
retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 
devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec-
retary. 
(c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the 
gold medal in commemoration to the members of the 
Office of Strategic Services under subsection (a), the 
gold medal shall be given to the Smithsonian Insti-
tution, where it will be displayed as appropriate and 
made available for research. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
18:25 Nov 21, 2013
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3544.IH
H3544
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(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 Office of 
Strategic Services. 
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 
bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 
under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 
a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 
materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, 
and the cost of the gold medal. 
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 
(a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu-
ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 
51 of title 31, United States Code. 
(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. 
Æ 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
18:25 Nov 21, 2013
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H3544.IH
H3544
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS