I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1582 
To require the Secretary of Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of 
the 100 year anniversary of the 1st Infantry Division. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 16, 2017 
Mr. RUSSELL (for himself, Mr. JONES, Mr. FLEISCHMANN, Mr. WALZ, Mr. 
COLE, Mr. KILMER, Mr. KNIGHT, Mrs. HARTZLER, Mr. FRANKS of Ari-
zona, Mr. KELLY of Mississippi, Mr. MARSHALL, and Mr. COLLINS of 
New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of Treasury to mint coins in com-
memoration of the 100 year anniversary of the 1st Infan-
try Division. 
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 ‘‘Duty First Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The congress finds the following: 
(1) The 1st Infantry Division was constituted 
on May 24, 1917, and is the first and oldest perma-
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nently established combat division of the United 
States Army. 2017 is the centennial of the Division. 
(2) The 1st Infantry Division has been in con-
tinuous service since its organization. 
(3) The 1st Infantry Division has fought with 
distinction in every major conflict since 1917 except 
the Korean War, when it was on occupation duty in 
Germany. 
(4) In World War I, the then-First Division 
was the first United States division to arrive in 
France. It fired the first American shots of the war, 
suffered the first casualties and secured the first 
American victory at the Battle of Cantigny in May, 
1918. This was also the first modern, combined 
arms battle in American history. It fought with dis-
tinction in all subsequent campaigns and, after occu-
pation duty in Germany, was the last combat divi-
sion to return home in 1919. 
(5) Five division soldiers received the Medal of 
Honor in World War I. 
(6) In World War II, the 1 ID was the first to 
deploy to Europe. It fought in North Africa and Sic-
ily in 1942 and 1943. General George S. Patton, 
Jr., commander of the United States 7th Army in 
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the Mediterranean, stated that he would not invade 
Sicily without the 1 ID as the assault division. 
(7) The 1 ID was the lead assault division on 
Omaha beach in Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 
1944. Against frightful odds and despite multiple 
challenges, it secured a beach head on a day when 
failure could have altered the outcome of the war. 
(8) The 1 ID played pivotal roles in the libera-
tion of France and Belgium; the Battle of the Bulge; 
the crossing of the Rhine River; and the invasion 
and defeat of Nazi Germany. After the war, the Di-
vision supported and secured the International War 
Crimes Tribunal at Nuremburg, Germany, guarding 
infamous Nazi officials during the courtroom pro-
ceedings. 
(9) Seventeen division soldiers received the 
Medal of Honor in World War II. 
(10) The 1 ID was the only United States com-
bat division in Europe from 1946 to 1951. It re-
turned to the United States and Fort Riley, KS, in 
1955. 
(11) The 1 ID was one of the first 2 combat 
divisions deployed to Vietnam in 1965. There it de-
fended the vital Highway 13 corridor against enemy 
infiltration from Cambodia to the capital at Saigon. 
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It fought gallantly in Operation Junction City, the 
largest operation of the war, in 1967; and in all 3 
waves of the Tet Offensive in 1968. 
(12) Twelve division soldiers received the Medal 
of Honor in Vietnam. 
(13) The 1 ID deterred Soviet aggression 
against NATO Europe from 1970 to 1990 with a 
brigade in Germany and the rest of the division de-
ploying there annually from Fort Riley in RE-
FORGER exercises that demonstrated United States 
capability and resolve until the Cold War ended. 
(14) The 1 ID deployed to Saudi Arabia in 
1991 in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. 
It attacked to breach the Iraqi defenses, raced 
across the desert with the United States VIIth 
Corps, destroying the Iraqi Republican Guard 
Tawakalna Division. 
(15) The 1 ID enforced international peace 
agreements in Bosnia for 31 months between 1996 
and 2000; for 4 months in Macedonia (FYROM) in 
1999; and for 22 months in Kosovo between 1999 
and 2003. 
(16) The 1 ID deployed to Iraq in 2004 to 
2005 in OIF II, the initial occupation of Iraq, and 
helped achieve the first free and fair elections in the 
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