[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4597 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4597

 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 their service to the Nation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 16, 2005

Ms. Granger (for herself, Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. Berman, Mr. Boswell, Mr. 
 Case, Mrs. Cubin, Mr. English of Pennsylvania, Mr. Faleomavaega, Mr. 
    Frank of Massachusetts, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Hall, Mr. Hastings of 
Florida, Mr. Hayworth, Ms. Herseth, Mr. Inslee, Mrs. Jones of Ohio, Mr. 
  Jefferson, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Kennedy of Rhode Island, Mr. Kildee, Mr. 
    Kind, Mr. Lewis of California, Mr. McCotter, Mr. Manzullo, Ms. 
 Millender-McDonald, Mr. Ney, Ms. Norton, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Rangel, Mr. 
     Renzi, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Towns, Mr. Wexler, and Mr. Wolf) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 their service to the Nation.

    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 ``Code Talkers Recognition Act''.

SEC. 2. EXPRESSION OF RECOGNITION.

    The purpose of the medals authorized by this Act are to express 
recognition by the United States and its citizens 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 the following:
            (1) Sioux Indians used their native languages, Dakota, 
        Lakota, and Nakota Sioux, as code during World War II.
            (2) These people, 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 which 
        saved the lives of many Americans in the Pacific and Europe, 
        such as the location of enemy troops and the number of enemy 
        guns.
            (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 the Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate 
design, to each Sioux Code Talker, including the following:
            (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.
            (11) Clarence Wolfguts.

                    TITLE II--COMANCHE CODE TALKERS

SEC. 201. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) On December 7, 1941, the Japanese Empire attacked Pearl 
        Harbor, Hawaii, and the Congress declared war 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 United States Government called upon 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 second-class citizens, 
        and they were a people who were 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 enemy's frustration, the code developed by these 
        Native American Indians proved to be unbreakable and was used 
        extensively throughout the European theater.
            (7) The Comanche language, discouraged in the past, was 
        instrumental in developing one of the most significant and 
        successful military codes of World War II.
            (8) The Comanche Code Talkers contributed greatly to the 
        Allied war effort in Europe and were instrumental in winning 
        the war in Europe. Their efforts saved countless lives.
            (9) Only 1 of the Comanche Code Talkers of World War II 
        remains alive today.
            (10) The time has come for the United States Congress to 
        honor the Comanche Code Talkers for their valor and their 
        service to the Nation.
            (11) The congressional gold medals authorized by this title 
        are the recognition and honor by the United States and its 
        citizens of the Comanche Code Talkers who distinguished 
        themselves in performing a unique, highly successful 
        communications operation that greatly assisted in saving 
        countless lives and in hastening the end of World War II in 
        Europe.

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 the Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate 
design to each of the following Comanche Code Talkers of World War II, 
in recognition of their contributions to the Nation:
            (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 the following:
            (1) On April 6, 1917, the United States, after 
        extraordinary provocations, declared war on Germany, thus the 
        United States entered World War I, the War to End All Wars.
            (2) At the time of this 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 their native land.
            (4) Members of the Choctaw Nation were enlisted in the 
        force known as the American Expeditionary Force, which began 
        hostile actions in France in the fall of 1917, and 
        specifically, members of the Choctaw Nation were 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 
        American operations 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 of American 
        action.
            (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) An American commander realized the fact that he had 
        under his command a number of men who spoke a native language. 
        While the use of such native languages was discouraged by the 
        American Government, the commander sought out and recruited 18 
        Choctaw Indians to use for transmission of field telephone 
        communications during an upcoming campaign.
            (8) 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.
            (9) The Choctaw soldiers were placed in different command 
        positions, to achieve the widest possible area for 
        communications.
            (10) The use of the Choctaw Code Talkers was particularly 
        important in the movement of American soldiers in October of 
        1918 (including securing forward and exposed positions), in the 
        protection of supplies during American action (including 
        protecting gun emplacements from enemy shelling), and in the 
        preparation for the assault on German positions in the final 
        stages of combat operations in the fall of 1918.
            (11) 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. 
        Based on this successful experience, Choctaw Indians were being 
        withdrawn from frontline units for training in transmission of 
        codes so as to be more widely used when the war came to a halt.
            (12) The Germans never succeeded in breaking the Choctaw 
        code.
            (13) This was the first time in modern warfare that such 
        transmission of messages in a native American language was used 
        for the purpose of confusing the enemy.
            (14) This action by members of the Choctaw Nation is 
        another example of the commitment of American Indians to the 
        defense of our great Nation and adds to the proud legacy of 
        such service.
            (15) The Choctaw Nation has honored the actions of these 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 the Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate 
design honoring the Choctaw Code Talkers.

                      TITLE IV--GENERAL PROVISIONS

SEC. 401. MEDALS FOR OTHER CODE TALKERS.

    (a) Presentation Authorized.--In addition to the gold medals 
authorized to be presented under section 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 the Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design to any 
other Native American Code Talker identified by the Secretary of 
Defense pursuant to 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.--Eligibility under paragraph (1) shall 
        be determined by the Secretary of Defense and such Secretary 
        shall establish a list of the names of such eligible 
        individuals before the end of the 120-day period beginning on 
        the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 402. PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO ALL MEDALS UNDER THIS ACT.

    (a) Medals Awarded Posthumously.--Medals 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.
            (2) Designs emblematic of tribal affiliation.--The design 
        of the gold medals struck under this Act for Native American 
        Code talkers of the same Indian tribe shall be emblematic of 
        the participation of the Code Talkers of such Indian tribe.
            (3) Indian tribe defined.--For purposes of this subsection, 
        the term ``Indian tribe'' has the same meaning as in section 4 
        of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act.

SEC. 403. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

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

SEC. 404. STATUS AS NATIONAL MEDALS.

    The medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals for 
purposes 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 may be necessary to pay for the costs of the medals 
authorized by this Act.
    (b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of duplicate 
bronze medals under section 403 shall be deposited in the United States 
Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
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