HR 5044 IH1S 
(16) A priority of International Military Tri-
bunal for the Far East (IMTFE), also known as the 
Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal and the ad hoc Amer-
ican and Allied military tribunals throughout the 
Asia Pacific from 1945 to 1951 was to obtain justice 
for the maltreatment of POWs. Approximately sev-
enty-five percent of the more than 5,600 defendants 
were charged with offenses against POWs. This re-
flects the July 26, 1945, Potsdam Declaration’s 
warning that, ‘‘stern justice shall be meted out to all 
war criminals, including those who have visited cru-
elties upon our prisoners’’. 
(17) President Ronald Reagan first proclaimed 
National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day 
in 1988, which was established to coincide with April 
9, the anniversary of the start of the Bataan Death 
March. 
(18) In 2009, the Government of Japan issued 
an official, Cabinet of Japan approved apology say-
ing ‘‘We extend a heartfelt apology for our country 
having caused tremendous damage and suffering to 
many people, including prisoners of wars, those who 
have undergone tragic experiences in the Bataan Pe-
ninsula, Corregidor Island, in the Philippines, and 
other places’’. 
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(19) In 2010, the Government of Japan initi-
ated an annual visitation program for former United 
States POWs of Japan and family members to visit 
Japan for remembrance, reconciliation, and healing. 
(20) It is time to recognize the ordinary men 
and women who found uncommon courage in ex-
traordinary circumstances to fight the impossible 
and endure the unimaginable for freedom from tyr-
anny and oppression. 
(21) The Congressional Gold Medal is an ap-
propriate way to honor the service of the United 
States POWs held by Imperial Japan in World War 
II and to highlight the unique imprisonment of these 
Pacific War heroes and their poignant history of 
sacrifice, perseverance, patriotism, and faith. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act— 
(a) the term ‘‘prisoners of war of Imperial Japan’’ 
includes any individual who— 
(1) was taken prisoner— 
(A) by Japan while serving honorably in 
the service of the United States at any time 
during the period beginning on December 8, 
1941, and ending on September 2, 1945; 
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(B) was taken prisoner by the Japanese 
while serving in an active-duty status under the 
command of the United States Army Forces in 
the Far East (USAFFE), United States Forces 
in the Philippines (USFIP), American-British- 
Dutch-Australian (ABDA) Command, South-
west Pacific Area (SWPA), Pacific Ocean Area 
(POA), China-Burma-India (CBI), Southeast 
Asia Command (SEAC), 1st Defense Battalion, 
Wake Island (Marines), Guam Battalion (Ma-
rines), 4th Marines, Marine Raiders, U.S. Asi-
atic Fleet, Twentieth Air Force, Far East Air 
Force, United States Army Air Forces, and the 
War Shipping Administration; or 
(C) was taken prisoner on Attu Island in 
the Aleutians part of Alaska on June 7, 1942; 
(2) was not granted ‘‘parole’’ (release) by Impe-
rial Japanese forces during World War II; and 
(3) holds ‘‘veterans’ status’’ or a ‘‘certificate of 
honorable service’’ for their service in the Pacific 
Theater of World War II when taken prisoner by 
Japan; 
(b) the term ‘‘Pacific Theater’’ means China, the 
Central Pacific, Southeast Asia, and the Southwest Pacific 
of World War II; and 
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(c) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the 
Treasury. 
SEC. 4. 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 award, on behalf of Congress, of a single gold 
medal of appropriate design to the United States to the 
men and women of the United States military and mer-
chant marine as well as citizen and non-citizen civilians 
who fought with the U.S. military and were surrendered, 
captured, or abandoned to become prisoners of war of Im-
perial Japan during 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 
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) 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’s Na-
tional Museum of American History, where it shall 
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be displayed as appropriate and made available for 
research. 
(2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 
Congress that the Smithsonian Institution’s Na-
tional Museum of American History should make 
the gold medal received under paragraph (1) avail-
able for display at other locations, particularly at lo-
cations that are associated with the prisoners of war 
of Imperial Japan during World War II, such as 
The Harry S. Truman Library and Museum, The 
MacArthur Memorial, National Prisoner of War Mu-
seum; National Museum of the Pacific War, and 
New Mexico Military Museum. 
SEC. 5. 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 4, at a price 
sufficient to cover the costs of the medals, including labor, 
materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 
SEC. 6. 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 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 
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