I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2561 
To authorize the President to award the Medal of Honor posthumously 
to Paul A. Smithhisler for acts of valor in November 1918 during 
World War I. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 21, 2015 
Mr. STIVERS (for himself, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. TIBERI, Mr. GIBBS, Mr. JOHN-
SON of Ohio, Ms. FUDGE, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. JORDAN, Mr. JOYCE, Mr. 
CHABOT, Mr. WENSTRUP, Mr. LATTA, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Mr. RENACCI, 
and Mr. TURNER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Armed Services 
A BILL 
To authorize the President to award the Medal of Honor 
posthumously to Paul A. Smithhisler for acts of valor 
in November 1918 during World War I. 
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 ‘‘Paul A. Smithhisler 
Medal of Honor Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION FOR POSTHUMOUS AWARD OF THE 
MEDAL OF HONOR TO PAUL A. SMITHHISLER 
FOR ACTS OF VALOR DURING WORLD WAR I. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find-
ings: 
(1) Paul A. Smithhisler was born in Mount 
Vernon, Ohio, on November 2, 1889, and served in 
the United States Army during World War I as a 
sergeant in the Ohio Army National Guard’s 37th 
Infantry Division, nicknamed the ‘‘Buckeye Divi-
sion’’. 
(2) In late October 1918, heavily fortified Ger-
man defenses repelled several Allied attempts to 
cross the Escaut River in Belgium before the mis-
sion was assigned to the 37th Infantry Division. 
(3) In preparation for an attack by the 37th In-
fantry Division across the Escaut River against the 
German defenses, the 112th Engineer Regiment of 
the Division requested volunteers to conduct a recon-
naissance of the German positions. 
(4) Aware of the tremendous risk to his life 
presented by the entrenched German forces, includ-
ing machine gun positions and artillery, Sergeant 
Smithhisler volunteered to conduct the reconnais-
sance mission. 
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(5) Just before midnight on November 1, 1918, 
Sergeant Smithhisler swam the 100-foot wide icy 
cold water of the Escaut River as Private Frank 
Burke, another volunteer, remained prepared to as-
sist him if necessary. 
(6) Sergeant Smithhisler successfully mapped 
the precise location of German machine gun and ar-
tillery positions and then swam back to the Allied- 
held side of the river under heavy fire, which in-
cluded a barrage of poison gas shells. 
(7) Private Burke came to Sergeant Smithhis-
ler’s rescue when he reached the steep river bank, 
placing a protective mask on Sergeant Smithhisler 
while exposing himself to toxins that may have con-
tributed to his death from influenza on December 3, 
1918. 
(8) Sergeant Smithhisler’s information was vital 
to the success of the subsequent Allied attack and 
the capture of the enemy’s defenses. 
(9) For his bravery, Smithhisler was awarded 
the Distinguished Service Cross and the French 
Croix de Guerre with Silver Star. 
(b) WAIVER
OF
TIME
LIMITATIONS.—Notwith-
standing the time limitations specified in section 3744 of 
title 10, United States Code, or any other time limitation 
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