I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1457 
To direct the Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of the Navy to 
conduct a review of military service records of Jewish American veterans 
of World War I, including those previously awarded a military decoration, 
to determine whether any of the veterans should be posthumously award-
ed the Medal of Honor, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 8, 2011 
Mr. LUETKEMEYER (for himself, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Ms. BERKLEY, 
Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. CLAY, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. FILNER, Mr. 
GRIMM, Mrs. HARTZLER, Mr. LONG, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. MCGOVERN, 
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama, Mr. ROTHMAN of New Jersey, Mr. TURNER, 
and Mr. WEST) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Armed Services 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of 
the Navy to conduct a review of military service records 
of Jewish American veterans of World War I, including 
those previously awarded a military decoration, to deter-
mine whether any of the veterans should be post-
humously awarded the Medal of Honor, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘William Shemin Jewish 
World War I Veterans Act’’. 
SEC. 2. REVIEW REGARDING AWARD OF MEDAL OF HONOR 
TO JEWISH AMERICAN WORLD WAR I VET-
ERANS. 
(a) REVIEW REQUIRED.—The Secretary of the Army 
and the Secretary of the Navy shall review the service 
records of each Jewish American World War I veteran de-
scribed in subsection (b) to determine whether that vet-
eran should be posthumously awarded the Medal of 
Honor. 
(b) COVERED JEWISH AMERICAN WAR VETERANS.— 
The Jewish American World War I veterans whose service 
records are to be reviewed under subsection (a) are the 
following: 
(1) Any Jewish American World War I veteran 
who was previously awarded the Distinguished Serv-
ice Cross, the Navy Cross, or other military decora-
tion for service during World War I. 
(2) Any other Jewish American World War I 
veteran whose name is submitted to the Secretary 
concerned for such purpose by the Jewish War Vet-
erans of the United States of America before the 
end of the one-year period beginning on the date of 
the enactment of this Act. 
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(c) CONSULTATIONS.—In carrying out the review 
under subsection (a), the Secretary concerned shall con-
sult with the Jewish War Veterans of the United States 
of America and with such other veterans service organiza-
tions as the Secretary considers appropriate. 
(d) RECOMMENDATION BASED ON REVIEW.—If the 
Secretary concerned determines, based upon the review 
under subsection (a) of the service records of any Jewish 
American World War I veteran, that the award of the 
Medal of Honor to that veteran is warranted, the Sec-
retary shall submit to the President a recommendation 
that the President award the Medal of Honor post-
humously to that veteran. 
(e) AUTHORITY TO AWARD MEDAL OF HONOR.—A 
Medal of Honor may be awarded posthumously to a Jew-
ish American World War I veteran in accordance with a 
recommendation of the Secretary concerned under sub-
section (a). 
(f) WAIVER OF TIME LIMITATIONS.—An award of 
the Medal of Honor may be made under subsection (e) 
without regard to— 
(1) section 3744, 6248, or 8744 of title 10, 
United States Code; and 
(2) any regulation or other administrative re-
striction on— 
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(A) the time for awarding the Medal of 
Honor; or 
(B) the awarding of the Medal of Honor 
for service for which a Distinguished Service 
Cross, Navy Cross, or other military decoration 
has been awarded. 
(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) The term ‘‘Jewish American World War I 
veteran’’ means any person who served in the Armed 
Forces during World War I and identified himself or 
herself as Jewish on his or her military personnel 
records. 
(2) The term ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ means— 
(A) the Secretary of the Army, in the case 
of the Army; and 
(B) the Secretary of the Navy, in the case 
of the Navy and the Marine Corps. 
(3) The term ‘‘World War I’’ means the period 
beginning on April 6, 1917, and ending on Novem-
ber 11, 1918. 
Æ 
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