I 
119TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7317 
To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to the Golden Thirteen, 
in recognition of their contributions to the Nation. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 2, 2026 
Ms. NORTON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on House 
Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak-
er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju-
risdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to the 
Golden Thirteen, in recognition of their contributions 
to the Nation. 
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 ‘‘Golden Thirteen Con-
gressional Gold Medal Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) In January 1944, there were no Black offi-
cers in the United States Navy. That month, 16 
Black enlisted men were assembled at the Recruit 
Training Center in Great Lakes, Illinois, for officer 
training. 
(2) These men were expected to complete offi-
cer training in 8 weeks, even though officer training 
was normally 16 weeks. 
(3) These men supported each other, including 
by placing blankets over their windows and studying 
as a group by flashlight at night. Each man brought 
to the group his own expertise to help the others. 
(4) When their officer training was completed, 
all 16 men passed their exams, leading some to 
claim that they had cheated. The men were forced 
to retake certain exams, and the group scored even 
higher. 
(5) The average grade for these men on the 
exams was a 3.89 out of a 4.00, the highest average 
of any class in Navy history at that time. 
(6) Even though all 16 men passed their exams, 
on February 24, 1944, the Navy commissioned only 
12 of them, and a 13th was made a chief warrant 
officer. Because the Navy had assumed a 25-percent 
attrition rate, only 12 officer commissions were an-
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ticipated. As the class had a 100-percent passage 
rate, the other three men were returned to the en-
listed ranks, with no reason given. 
(7) During their careers, these men oversaw all- 
Black units or the training of Black recruits. One 
would go on to make his career in the Navy after 
World War II, and the rest would return to civilian 
life. 
(8) In the 1970s, Captain Edward Secrest, a 
former instructor, gave the group the name ‘‘Golden 
Thirteen’’. 
(9) In 1982, these men were formally recog-
nized with a first-ever reunion at sea aboard the 
USS KIDD–993. 
(10) The members of the Golden Thirteen were 
Jesse Walter Arbor; Phillip G. Barnes; Samuel Ed-
ward Barnes; Dalton Louis Baugh, Sr.; George Clin-
ton Cooper; Reginald Ernest Goodwin; James Ed-
ward Hair; Charles Byrd Lear; Graham Edward 
Martin; Dennis Denmark Nelson; John Walter 
Reagan; Frank Ellis Sublett, Jr.; and William Syl-
vester White. The three men who passed their 
exams, but not made officers, were Augustus Alves; 
J.B. Pinkney; and Lewis ‘‘Mummy’’ Williams. 
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SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 
(a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 
the House of Representatives and the President pro tem-
pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 
for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of the Con-
gress, of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemo-
ration to the Golden Thirteen, in recognition of their con-
tributions to the Nation. 
(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purposes of the 
presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 
of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec-
retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 
devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec-
retary. 
(c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the 
gold medal under subsection (a), the gold medal 
shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where 
it shall be available for display as appropriate and 
made available for research. 
(2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 
Congress that the Smithsonian Institution should 
make the gold medal received under paragraph (1) 
available for display elsewhere, particularly at other 
appropriate locations associated with the Golden 
Thirteen. 
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SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 
bronze of the gold medal struck under section 3, at a price 
sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, mate-
rials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 
(a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—Medals struck pursuant to 
this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 
of title 31, United States Code. 
(b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 
5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 
struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 
items. 
SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 
SALE. 
(a) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.—There is 
authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 
Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec-
essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck pursuant 
to this Act. 
(b) PROCEEDS
OF SALE.—The amounts received 
from the sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under 
section 4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint 
Public Enterprise Fund. 
Æ 
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