[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 540 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 540

 To authorize the presentation of gold medals on behalf of Congress to 
Native Americans who served as Code Talkers during foreign conflicts in 
    which the United States was involved during the 20th century in 
  recognition of the service of those Native Americans to the United 
                                States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 5, 2003

  Mr. Inhofe introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
    referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize the presentation of gold medals on behalf of Congress to 
Native Americans who served as Code Talkers during foreign conflicts in 
    which the United States was involved during the 20th century in 
  recognition of the service of those Native Americans to the United 
                                States.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Code Talkers 
Recognition Act''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Expression of recognition.
                      TITLE I--SIOUX CODE TALKERS

Sec. 101. Findings.
Sec. 102. Congressional gold medal.
                    TITLE II--COMANCHE CODE TALKERS

Sec. 201. Findings.
Sec. 202. Congressional gold medal.
                    TITLE III--CHOCTAW CODE TALKERS

Sec. 301. Findings.
Sec. 302. Congressional gold medal.
                      TITLE IV--GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 401. Definition of Indian tribe.
Sec. 402. Medals for other Code Talkers.
Sec. 403. Provisions applicable to all medals under this Act.
Sec. 404. Duplicate medals.
Sec. 405. Status as national medals.
Sec. 405. Funding.

SEC. 2. EXPRESSION OF RECOGNITION.

    The purpose of the medals authorized by this Act is to express 
recognition by the United States and citizens of the United States of, 
and to honor, the Native American Code Talkers who distinguished 
themselves in performing highly successful communications operations of 
a unique type that greatly assisted in saving countless lives and in 
hastening the end of World War I and World War II.

                      TITLE I--SIOUX CODE TALKERS

SEC. 101. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) Sioux Indians used their native languages, Dakota, 
        Lakota, and Dakota Sioux, as code during World War II;
            (2) those individuals, who manned radio communications 
        networks to advise of enemy actions, became known as the Sioux 
        Code Talkers;
            (3) under some of the heaviest combat action, the Code 
        Talkers worked around the clock to provide information that 
        saved the lives of many Americans in war theaters in the 
        Pacific and Europe, such as the location of enemy troops and 
        the number of enemy guns; and
            (4) the Sioux Code Talkers were so successful that military 
        commanders credit the code with saving the lives of countless 
        American soldiers and being instrumental to the success of the 
        United States in many battles during World War II.

SEC. 102. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro 
Tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the 
presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate 
design, to each Sioux Code Talker, including--
            (1) Eddie Eagle Boy;
            (2) Simon Brokenleg;
            (3) Iver Crow Eagle, Sr.;
            (4) Edmund St. John;
            (5) Walter C. John;
            (6) John Bear King;
            (7) Phillip ``Stoney'' LaBlanc;
            (8) Baptiste Pumpkinseed;
            (9) Guy Rondell;
            (10) Charles Whitepipe; and
            (11) Clarence Wolfguts.

                    TITLE II--COMANCHE CODE TALKERS

SEC. 201. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the Japanese Empire attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 
        December 7, 1941, and Congress declared war on Japan the 
        following day;
            (2) the military code developed by the United States for 
        transmitting messages had been deciphered by the Axis powers, 
        and United States military intelligence sought to develop a new 
        means to counter the enemy;
            (3) the Federal Government called on the Comanche Nation to 
        support the military effort by recruiting and enlisting 
        Comanche men to serve in the United States Army to develop a 
secret code based on the Comanche language;
            (4) at the time, the Comanches were--
                    (A) considered to be second-class citizens; and
                    (B) discouraged from using their own language;
            (5) the Comanches of the 4th Signal Division became known 
        as the ``Comanche Code Talkers'' and helped to develop a code 
        using their language to communicate military messages during 
        the D-Day invasion and in the European theater during World War 
        II;
            (6) to the frustration of the enemy, the code developed by 
        those Native Americans--
                    (A) proved to be unbreakable; and
                    (B) was used extensively throughout the European 
                war theater;
            (7) the Comanche language, discouraged in the past, was 
        instrumental in developing 1 of the most significant and 
        successful military codes of World War II;
            (8) the efforts of the Comanche Code Talkers--
                    (A) contributed greatly to the Allied war effort in 
                Europe;
                    (B) were instrumental in winning the war in Europe; 
                and
                    (C) their efforts saved countless lives;
            (9) only 1 of the Comanche Code Talkers of World War II 
        remains alive today; and
            (10) the time has come for Congress to honor the Comanche 
        Code Talkers for their valor and service to the United States.

SEC. 202. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro 
Tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the 
presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate 
design to each of the following Comanche Code Talkers of World War II, 
in recognition of contributions of those individuals to the United 
States:
            (1) Charles Chibitty.
            (2) Haddon Codynah.
            (3) Robert Holder.
            (4) Forrest Kassanovoid.
            (5) Willington Mihecoby.
            (6) Perry Noyebad.
            (7) Clifford Otitivo.
            (8) Simmons Parker.
            (9) Melvin Permansu.
            (10) Dick Red Elk.
            (11) Elgin Red Elk.
            (12) Larry Saupitty.
            (13) Morris Sunrise.
            (14) Willie Yackeschi.

                    TITLE III--CHOCTAW CODE TALKERS

SEC. 301. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) on April 6, 1917, the United States, after 
        extraordinary provocations, declared war on Germany and entered 
        World War I, the War to End All Wars;
            (2) at the time of that declaration of war, Indian people 
        in the United States, including members of the Choctaw Nation, 
        were not accorded the status of citizens of the United States;
            (3) without regard to this lack of citizenship, many 
        members of the Choctaw Nation joined many members of other 
        Indian tribes and nations in enlisting in the Armed Forces to 
        fight on behalf of the United States;
            (4) members of the Choctaw Nation were--
                    (A) enlisted in the force known as the American 
                Expeditionary Force, which began hostile actions in 
                France in the fall of 1917; and
                    (B) incorporated in a company of Indian enlistees 
                serving in the 142d Infantry Company of the 36th 
                Division;
            (5) a major impediment to Allied operations in general, and 
        operations of the United States in particular, was the fact 
        that the German forces had deciphered all codes used for 
        transmitting information between Allied commands, leading to 
        substantial loss of men and materiel during the first year in 
        which the military of the United States engaged in combat in 
        World War I;
            (6) because of the proximity and static nature of the 
        battle lines, a method to communicate without the knowledge of 
        the enemy was needed;
            (7) a commander of the United States realized the fact that 
        he had under his command a number of men who spoke a native 
        language;
            (8) while the use of such native languages was discouraged 
        by the Federal Government, the commander sought out and 
        recruited 18 Choctaw Indians to assist in transmitting field 
        telephone communications during an upcoming campaign;
            (9) because the language used by the Choctaw soldiers in 
        the transmission of information was not based on a European 
        language or on a mathematical progression, the Germans were 
        unable to understand any of the transmissions;
            (10) the Choctaw soldiers were placed in different command 
        positions to achieve the widest practicable area for 
        communications;
            (11) the use of the Choctaw Code Talkers was particularly 
        important in--
                    (A) the movement of American soldiers in October of 
                1918 (including securing forward and exposed 
                positions);
                    (B) the protection of supplies during American 
                action (including protecting gun emplacements from 
                enemy shelling); and
                    (C) in the preparation for the assault on German 
                positions in the final stages of combat operations in 
                the fall of 1918;
            (12) in the opinion of the officers involved, the use of 
        Choctaw Indians to transmit information in their native 
        language saved men and munitions, and was highly successful;
            (13) based on that successful experience, Choctaw Indians 
        were withdrawn from frontline units for training in 
        transmission of codes so as to be more widely used when the war 
        came to an end;
            (14) the Germans never succeeded in breaking the Choctaw 
        code;
            (15) that was the first time in modern warfare that the 
        transmission of messages in a Native American language was used 
        for the purpose of confusing the enemy;
            (16) this action by members of the Choctaw Nation--
                    (A) is another example of the commitment of Native 
                Americans to the defense of the United States; and
                    (B) adds to the proud legacy of such service; and
            (17) the Choctaw Nation has honored the actions of those 18 
        Choctaw Code Talkers through a memorial bearing their names 
        located at the entrance of the tribal complex in Durant, 
        Oklahoma.

SEC. 302. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro 
Tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the 
presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate 
design honoring the Choctaw Code Talkers.

                      TITLE IV--GENERAL PROVISIONS

SEC. 401. DEFINITION OF INDIAN TRIBE.

    In this title, the term ``Indian tribe'' has the meaning given the 
term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education 
Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 4506).

SEC. 402. MEDALS FOR OTHER CODE TALKERS.

    (a) Presentation Authorized.--In addition to the gold medals 
authorized to be presented under sections 102, 202, and 302, the 
Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore 
of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the presentation, 
on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design to any 
other Native American Code Talker identified by the Secretary of 
Defense under subsection (b) who has not previously received a 
congressional gold medal.
    (b) Identification of Other Native American Code Talkers.--
            (1) In general.--Any Native American member of the United 
        States Armed Forces who served as a Code Talker in any foreign 
        conflict in which the United States was involved during the 
        20th Century shall be eligible for a gold medal under this 
        section.
            (2) Determination.--The Secretary of Defense shall--
                    (A) determine eligibility under paragraph (1); and
                    (B) not later than 120 days after the date of 
                enactment of this Act, establish a list of the names of 
                individuals eligible to receive a medal under paragraph 
                (1).

SEC. 403. PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO ALL MEDALS UNDER THIS ACT.

    (a) Medals Awarded Posthumously.--A medal authorized by this Act 
may be awarded posthumously on behalf of, and presented to the next of 
kin or other representative of, a Native American Code Talker.
    (b) Design and Striking.--
            (1) In general.--For purposes of any presentation of a gold 
        medal under this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
        strike gold medals with suitable emblems, devices, and 
        inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary of the 
        Treasury.
            (2) Designs emblematic of tribal affiliation.--The design 
        of the gold medals struck under this Act for Native American 
        Code Talkers who are members of the same Indian tribe shall be 
        emblematic of the participation of the Code Talkers of that 
        Indian tribe.

SEC. 404. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

    The Secretary of the Treasury may strike and sell duplicates in 
bronze of the gold medals struck under this Act--
            (1) in accordance with such regulations as the Secretary 
        may promulgate; and
            (2) at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the medals 
        (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and 
        overhead expenses, and the cost of the bronze medal).

SEC. 405. STATUS AS NATIONAL MEDALS.

    A medal struck under this Act shall be considered to be a national 
medal for the purpose of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.

SEC. 405. FUNDING.

    (a) Authority To Use Fund Amounts.--There is authorized to be 
charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund such 
amounts as are necessary to strike and award medals authorized by this 
Act.
    (b) Proceeds of Sale.--All amounts received from the sale of 
duplicate bronze medals under section 404 shall be deposited in the 
United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
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