I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3929 
To award the Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the members of 
the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in recognition of their superior 
service and major contributions during World War II. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 4, 2015 
Mr. LATTA (for himself, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. PITTENGER, Mr. STEW-
ART, Mr. JONES, Mr. PETERS, Mr. MCKINLEY, Mr. SCHWEIKERT, Mr. 
HUNTER, Mr. TURNER, Mr. KING of New York, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. MIL-
LER of Florida, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. THOMP-
SON of Pennsylvania, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. RUSSELL, Mr. GIBBS, Ms. 
KAPTUR, Mr. FORBES, Miss RICE of New York, Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. 
JOLLY, Mr. MESSER, Mr. WALBERG, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mrs. 
COMSTOCK, Mr. DESANTIS, and Mr. ZINKE) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addi-
tion to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To award the Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the 
members of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in 
recognition of their superior service and major contribu-
tions during World War II. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
06:57 Nov 06, 2015
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3929.IH
H3929
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Office of Strategic 
Services Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 
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. The U.S. Spe-
cial Operations Command and the National Clandes-
tine Service chose the OSS spearhead as their insig-
nias. 
(2) OSS founder General William J. Donovan is 
the only person in American history to receive our 
Nation’s four highest 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- 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
06:57 Nov 06, 2015
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3929.IH
H3929
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
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 
Special Operations Command. The Marines who 
served in the OSS, including the actor Sterling Hay-
den (a Silver Star recipient), Col. William Eddy (a 
Distinguished Service Cross recipient who was de-
scribed as the ‘‘nearest thing the United States has 
had to a Lawrence of Arabia’’), and Col. Peter Ortiz 
(a two-time Navy Cross recipient), were predecessors 
to the Marine Special Operations Command. U.S. 
Coast Guard personnel were recruited for the Mari-
time Unit and its 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. General Ei-
senhower credited the OSS’s covert contribution in 
France to the equivalent to having an extra military 
division. General Eisenhower told General Donovan 
that if it did nothing else, the photographic recon-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
06:57 Nov 06, 2015
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3929.IH
H3929
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
naissance conducted by the OSS prior to the D-Day 
Invasion justified its creation. 
(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. 
(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. Its ranks in-
cluded seven future presidents of the American His-
torical Association, five of the American Economic 
Association, and two Nobel laureates. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
06:57 Nov 06, 2015
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3929.IH
H3929
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
(9) The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of 
Intelligence and Research traces its creation to the 
OSS Research and Analysis Branch. 
(10) James Donovan, who was portrayed by 
Tom Hanks in the Steven Spielberg movie ‘‘Bridge 
of Spies’’ and negotiated the release of U–2 pilot 
Francis Gary Powers, served as General Counsel of 
the OSS. 
(11) 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. 
(12) OSS Detachment 101 operated in Burma 
and pioneered the art of unconventional warfare. It 
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. 
(13) Its X–2 branch pioneered counterintel-
ligence with the British and established the modern 
counterintelligence community. The network of con-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
06:57 Nov 06, 2015
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3929.IH
H3929
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
tacts built by the OSS with foreign intelligence serv-
ices led to enduring Cold War alliances. 
(14) 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. 
(15) 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. 
(16) 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. 
(17) The handful of surviving men and women 
of the OSS whom General Donovan said performed 
‘‘some of the bravest acts of the war’’ are members 
of the ‘‘Greatest Generation’’. 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 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
06:57 Nov 06, 2015
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3929.IH
H3929
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
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. 
(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. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
06:57 Nov 06, 2015
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3929.IH
H3929
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
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 Sep 11 2014 
06:57 Nov 06, 2015
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H3929.IH
H3929
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS