I 
★
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3545 
To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the military intelligence professionals 
at Camp Ritchie, commonly known as the ‘‘Ritchie Boys’’, in recognition 
of their groundbreaking contributions to the field of human intelligence 
and their outstanding service during World War II. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 18, 2023 
Mr. TRONE (for himself and Mr. TIMMONS) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addi-
tion to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the military intel-
ligence professionals at Camp Ritchie, commonly known 
as 
the 
‘‘Ritchie 
Boys’’, 
in 
recognition 
of 
their 
groundbreaking contributions to the field of human intel-
ligence and their outstanding service during World War 
II. 
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 ‘‘Ritchie Boys Congres-
sional Gold Medal Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) The Ritchie Boys were a group of approxi-
mately 15,200 servicemembers who trained in 
United States Army Intelligence methods at Camp 
Ritchie, Maryland, during World War II. 
(2) Most of the men and women assigned to 
Camp Ritchie possessed critical language skills in 
German, Polish, Italian, French, and other lan-
guages that became an asset to allied forces during 
the war. 
(3) Approximately 14 percent of the Ritchie 
Boys were Jewish refugees from Germany and Aus-
tria who had detailed knowledge of German cultural 
attitudes and communication. 
(4) The Ritchie Boys were trained in methods 
of human intelligence, including groundbreaking 
techniques in interrogation, counterintelligence, and 
psychological warfare that leveraged cultural knowl-
edge as a tool for building rapport with prisoners. 
(5) Consequently, the Ritchie Boys were able to 
gather vital intelligence regarding the hierarchy, 
strategies, motivations, and attitudes of the German 
military. 
(6) The Ritchie Boys who completed training at 
Camp Ritchie went on to serve in units on the front 
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lines in Europe, conducting human intelligence oper-
ations and analyzing German military plans to pro-
vide strategic intelligence to commanders in the 
field. 
(7) The Ritchie Boys also conducted counter-
intelligence operations aimed at demoralizing the 
enemy and convincing German soldiers to abandon 
their units. 
(8) After the war, many of the Ritchie Boys 
helped shape American culture and society through 
their continued work in the intelligence community 
as well as governance, academia, and other fields. 
(9) A United States Army report found that ap-
proximately 60 percent of the actionable intelligence 
gathered in Europe during the war came from the 
Ritchie Boys. 
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 
(a) AWARD
AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of the 
House of Representatives and the President pro tempore 
of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the 
award, on behalf of the Congress, of a gold medal of ap-
propriate design to the military intelligence professionals 
at Camp Ritchie, commonly known as the ‘‘Ritchie Boys’’, 
in recognition of their groundbreaking contributions to the 
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