I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5671 
To award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the United States 
Merchant Mariners of World War II, in recognition of their dedicated 
and vital service during World War II. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 24, 2020 
Mr. GARAMENDI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the 
United States Merchant Mariners of World War II, in 
recognition of their dedicated and vital service during 
World War II. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Merchant Mariners 
of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2020’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) 2020 marked the 75th anniversary of Allied 
victory in World War II. 
(2) The United States Merchant Marine (in 
this section referred to as the ‘‘Merchant Marine’’) 
was integral in providing the link between domestic 
production and the fighting forces overseas, pro-
viding combat equipment, fuel, food, commodities, 
and raw materials to troops stationed abroad. 
(3) Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King acknowledged 
the indispensability of the Merchant Marine to the 
victory in a 1945 letter stating that, without the 
support of the Merchant Marine, ‘‘the Navy could 
not have accomplished its mission’’. 
(4) President, and former Supreme Commander 
of the Allied Expeditionary Forces, Dwight D. Ei-
senhower acknowledged that ‘‘through the prompt 
delivery of supplies and equipment to our armed 
forces overseas, and of cargoes representing eco-
nomic and military aid to friendly nations, the 
American Merchant Marine has effectively helped to 
strengthen the forces of freedom throughout the 
world’’. 
(5) Military missions and war planning were 
contingent upon the availability of resources and the 
Merchant Marine played a vital role in this regard, 
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ensuring the efficient and reliable transoceanic 
transport of military equipment and both military 
and civilian personnel. 
(6) The Merchant Marine provided for the suc-
cessful transport of resources and personnel despite 
consistent and ongoing exposure to enemy combat-
ants from both the air and the sea, including from 
enemy bomber squadrons, submarines, and naval 
mines. 
(7) The efforts of the Merchant Marine were 
not without sacrifices as the Merchant Marine likely 
bore a higher per-capita casualty rate than any of 
the military branches during the war. 
(8) The Merchant Marine proved to be an in-
strumental asset on an untold number of occasions, 
participating in every landing operation by the 
United States Marine Corps, from Guadalcanal to 
Okinawa. 
(9) The Merchant Marine provided the bulk 
tonnage of material necessary for the invasion of 
Normandy, an invasion which, according to a 1944 
New York Times article, ‘‘would not have been pos-
sible without the Merchant Marine’’. 
(10) In assessing the performance of the Mer-
chant Marine, General Eisenhower stated, ‘‘every 
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man in this Allied command is quick to express his 
admiration for the loyalty, courage, and fortitude of 
the officers and men of the Merchant Marine. We 
count upon their efficiency and their utter devotion 
to duty as we do our own; they have never failed 
us’’. 
(11) During a September 1944 speech, Presi-
dent Franklin D. Roosevelt stated that the Merchant 
Marine had ‘‘delivered the goods when and where 
needed in every theater of operations and across 
every ocean in the biggest, the most difficult, and 
dangerous transportation job ever undertaken. As 
time goes on, there will be greater public under-
standing of our merchant fleet’s record during this 
war’’. 
(12) The feats and accomplishments of the 
Merchant Marine are deserving of broader public 
recognition. 
(13) The United States will be forever grateful 
and indebted to these merchant mariners for their 
effective, reliable, and courageous transport of goods 
and resources in enemy territory throughout thea-
ters of every variety in World War II. 
(14) The goods and resources transported by 
the Merchant Marine saved thousands of lives and 
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enabled the Allied Powers to claim victory in World 
War II. 
(15) The Congressional Gold Medal would be 
an appropriate way to shed further light on the serv-
ice of the merchant mariners in World War II and 
the instrumental role they played in winning that 
war. 
(16) Many students of the Merchant Marine 
Academy lost their lives as they sailed through 
enemy-controlled waters or unloaded cargo in over-
seas combat areas, and, as a result, the United 
States Merchant Marine Academy is the only insti-
tution among the 5 Federal academies to be author-
ized to carry a battle standard as part of its color 
guard. 
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 
(a) AWARD
AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of the 
House of Representatives and the President pro tempore 
of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the 
award, on behalf of Congress, of a single gold medal of 
appropriate design to the United States merchant mari-
ners of World War II, in recognition of their dedicated 
and vital service during World War II. 
(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purposes of the 
award described in subsection (a), the Secretary of the 
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Treasury (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall 
strike the gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and 
inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary. 
(c) AMERICAN MERCHANT MARINE MUSEUM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the 
gold medal under subsection (a), the gold medal 
shall be given to the American Merchant Marine 
Museum, where it will be available for display as ap-
propriate and available for research. 
(2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 
Congress that the American Merchant Marine Mu-
seum should make the gold medal given to the Mu-
seum under paragraph (1) available for display else-
where, particularly at appropriate locations associ-
ated with the United States Merchant Marine and 
that preference should be given to locations affiliated 
with the United States Merchant Marine. 
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 
Under such regulations as the Secretary may pre-
scribe, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 
bronze of the gold medal struck under section 3, at a price 
sufficient to cover the costs of the medals, including labor, 
materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 
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SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 
(a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—Medals struck under 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 
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