Doris Miller Congressional Gold Medal Act
Bill: H.R.6990 | Sponsor: Rep. Mfume, Kweisi (D-MD)
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
This bill provides for the award of a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal in commemoration of Doris Miller in recognition of his acts of valor while a member of the U.S. Navy during World War II.

To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Doris Miller, in 
 recognition of his acts of valor while a member of the United States 
                       Navy during World War II.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Doris Miller Congressional Gold 
Medal Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Doris Miller, like other African-American sailors of 
        his day, was generally relegated to service-based roles on 
        ships, as the Navy did not allow sailors of color to enlist in 
        combat roles.
            (2) On December 7, 1941, Doris Miller was serving aboard 
        the USS West Virginia in Hawaii when Japanese torpedo bombers 
        attacked his ship and others at the Pearl Harbor Naval Base--
        headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. During this infamous 
        attack, Doris Miller manned a gun magazine amidships. When a 
        torpedo damaged the magazine, Doris Miller helped carry the 
        wounded to safety, including his ship's commander, Captain 
        Mervyn S. Bennion. Doris Miller then manned a .50 caliber 
        antiaircraft gun, for which he had no training, and continued 
        firing on the enemy until he ran out of ammunition and received 
        the order to abandon ship.
            (3) Doris Miller was acknowledged in the USS West Virginia 
        Action Report, individually, along with other brave personnel 
        for having ``carried out every order promptly and 
        enthusiastically, even when it meant danger to themselves. They 
        did not attempt to abandon the bridge until ordered to do 
        so.''.
            (4) Doris Miller aided other service members and ``was 
        instrumental in hauling people along through oil and water to 
        the quarterdeck, thereby unquestionably saving the lives of a 
        number of people who might otherwise have been lost.''.
            (5) On December 15, 1941, the Navy released its 
        commendations for actions in Pearl Harbor which included one 
        ``unnamed Negro''. It wasn't until March of 1942, at the behest 
        of the NAACP, that the Navy formally recognized Miller's 
        heroism.
            (6) Doris Miller was recognized by the Navy and awarded the 
        Navy Cross Medal with the citation reading ``For distinguished 
        devotion to duty, extraordinary courage and disregard for his 
        own personal safety during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl 
        Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, by Japanese forces on December 7, 
        1941. While at the side of his Captain on the bridge, Miller, 
        despite enemy strafing and bombing and in the face of a serious 
        fire, assisted in moving his Captain, who had been mortally 
        wounded, to a place of greater safety, and later manned and 
        operated a machine gun directed at enemy Japanese attacking 
        aircraft until ordered to leave the bridge.''.
            (7) On May 27, 1942, Admiral Chester Nimitz personally 
        pinned the Navy Cross to Miller's left breast pocket while on 
        board the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise.
            (8) Doris Miller died in action on November 24, 1943, on 
        board the USS Liscome Bay in the Pacific Ocean after a single 
        Japanese torpedo sank the vessel off the coast of Butaritari 
        Island.

SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

    (a) Presentation Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of 
Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make 
appropriate arrangements for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of 
Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemoration of 
Doris Miller, in recognition of his acts of valor while a member of the 
Navy during World War II.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes of the presentation 
referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter 
in this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall strike a gold medal 
with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by 
the Secretary.
    (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 shall make the gold medal received 
        under paragraph (1) available for display elsewhere, 
        particularly at other appropriate locations associated with 
        Doris Miller.

SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

    The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold 
medal struck pursuant to section 3, at a price sufficient to cover the 
cost thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and 
overhead expenses.

SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.

    (a) National Medals.--The 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 section 5134 of title 31, 
United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be 
considered to be numismatic items.
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