I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6123 
To congressionally designate the museum to preserve the stories, knowledge, 
and history of the Medal of Honor to be constructed in Mount Pleasant, 
South Carolina, as the National Medal of Honor Museum. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 22, 2016 
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. SCALISE, Mr. DUNCAN of 
South Carolina, Mr. MULVANEY, Mr. GOWDY, Mr. SANFORD, Mr. COFF-
MAN, and Mr. COOK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Armed Services 
A BILL 
To congressionally designate the museum to preserve the 
stories, knowledge, and history of the Medal of Honor 
to be constructed in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, 
as the National Medal of Honor Museum. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. NATIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR MUSEUM. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress make the following find-
ings: 
(1) The Medal of Honor Museum to be located 
in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, will be the only 
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museum in the United States that exists for the ex-
clusive purpose of interpreting the story of the 
Medal of Honor and all of the recipients of the 
Medal of Honor. 
(2) The Medal of Honor Museum will be the 
only museum dedicated for the purpose of educating 
a diverse audience about the Medal of Honor 
through its collection of artifacts, photographs, let-
ters, documents, and first-hand personal accounts of 
Medal of Honor recipients and the wars in which 
they have served. 
(3) The mission of the Medal of Honor Museum 
is to preserve and present the extraordinary stories 
of individuals who reached the highest levels of rec-
ognition, ‘‘above and beyond the call of duty’’, in 
service to the United States, to inspire current and 
future generations about the six ideals of the Medal 
of Honor, namely courage, commitment, integrity, 
citizenship, sacrifice, and patriotism, to help visitors 
understand the meaning and price of freedom and 
what it means to put service above self, and to serve 
as an education center that, through various pro-
grams, reaches out across the country to further the 
Medal of Honor’s ideals among all Americans, espe-
cially young people. 
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(4) The Medal of Honor was established by an 
Act of Congress in 1861 and is presented by the 
President ‘‘in the name of Congress’’. 
(5) The Medal of Honor is the highest award 
for valor in action against an enemy force which can 
be bestowed upon an individual serving in the 
United States Armed Forces. 
(6) The Medal of Honor has been awarded to 
heroes of all races and social classes, and recipients 
represent all 50 States, the District of Columbia, 
Puerto Rico, and Guam. 
(7) As of September 7, 2016, there have been 
3,496 recipients of the Medal of Honor, of which 19 
individuals were double recipients. 
(8) Since World War II, the vast majority of 
the 874 Medals of Honor awarded for service in 
World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam were 
awarded posthumously. 
(9) As of September 7, 2016, there are only 77 
living Medal of Honor recipients, and they have an 
average age of 71 years old, which creates an urgent 
need to preserve the stories, artifacts, and achieve-
ments of these heros. 
(10) The United States has an urgent need to 
preserve the stories, knowledge, and history of the 
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recipients of the Medal of Honor and to portray that 
history, and the courage, commitment, integrity, citi-
zenship, sacrifice, and patriotism of the recipients of 
the Medal of Honor, for future generations. 
(11) The State of South Carolina has provided 
a site for the Medal of Honor Museum in Mount 
Pleasant, South Carolina, at Patriot’s Point on the 
eastern shore of Charleston harbor, not far from the 
site at which Sergeant William H. Carney of the 
Union Army’s 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regi-
ment became the first African-American recipient of 
the Medal of Honor as a result of his heroic actions 
on July 18, 1863, during the Battle of Fort Wagner. 
(12) The Congressional Medal of Honor Society 
has designated this site as the location of the Na-
tional Medal of Honor Museum, and the National 
Medal of Honor Museum Foundation is a nonprofit 
educational foundation established to design, fund, 
build, and maintain the museum. 
(13) The Medal of Honor Museum receives 
funding support from the State of South Carolina 
and is now in the construction design and funding 
stage. 
(14) The Medal of Honor Museum will become 
the premier museum of the Medal of Honor, its re-
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cipients, and their stories, and a place where people 
will come to learn about Americans’ experiences dur-
ing critical periods in United States history and 
where the history of American struggles against ag-
gression by would-be oppressors is preserved so that 
future generations can understand the role the 
United States continues to play in the preservation 
and advancement of democracy and freedom. 
(b) DESIGNATION.—In light of the findings contained 
in subsection (a), the Medal of Honor Museum to be lo-
cated in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, is hereby des-
ignated as the ‘‘National Medal of Honor Museum’’. 
Æ 
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