Whereas the members of the United States Navy Armed Guard
sailed the oceans and seas on merchant ships during World War I and World War
II to protect important cargo from capture or destruction by the enemy;
Whereas naval officers, gunners, radiomen, signalmen,
medics, and radarmen serving on American merchant ships comprised the United
States Navy Armed Guard, a force that grew to 144,970 personnel during World
War II;
Whereas the mariners who served in the United States Navy
Armed Guard fought bravely, often under heavy fire, and many even as the decks
of their ships were awash and sinking beneath the ocean waves;
Whereas, of the 6,236 merchant ships (including the 2,710
famous Liberty Ships) on which detachments of the United States Navy Armed
Guard served during World War II, 720 ships (including 216 Liberty Ships) were
sunk, and many more were damaged by enemy action;
Whereas approximately 1,810 members of the United States
Navy Armed Guard died and many more were wounded in the service of their
country in World War II, a casualty rate that grimly rivals the casualty rate
of any other defined force of the Armed Forces during World War II;
Whereas, on April 4, 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt
issued a proclamation, with each Commander in Chief to follow doing the
same
, designating May 22, 1945, as National Maritime Day in honor of
those who sailed the oceans and seas transporting supplies of every sort to
both the peaceful and war-torn nations of the world;
Whereas the nations of the world owe their freedom, in
part, to the sacrifices of the members of the United States Navy Armed Guard,
and many of those nations have awarded special medals to veterans of the United
States Navy Armed Guard in recognition of their heroic actions;
Whereas the United States Government has failed to follow
the lead of those nations in recognizing the members of the United States Navy
Armed Guard with a special medal that honors them as the American heroes that
they are;
Whereas the United States Government has recognized the
military character of the service in the United States Navy Armed Guard by
awarding each member that served during World War II at least 1 of the 3 World
War II campaign medals for service in the American Theater, the Asiatic-Pacific
Theater, and the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater;
Whereas the mariners who served in the United States Navy
Armed Guard aboard United States cargo ships during World War I, and those who
served honorably to protect civilians and freight on vessels under foreign
flags during both World War I and World War II, were equally dedicated,
intrepid, and heroic, and are equally deserving of recognition with a special
medal;
Whereas Chief Boatswain Mate John Eopolucci of the United
States Navy Armed Guard was the first United States serviceman to die in World
War I, and
Whereas the United States has not adequately recognized
the heroism and sacrifices of the members of the United States Navy Armed Guard
during World War I and World War II; and
Whereas there are no white crosses to designate the burial
places of United States Navy Armed Guards who died at sea serving their
country, and these men have never been appropriately honored for their service:
Now, therefore, be it
1.John Eopolucci United States
Navy Armed Guard service medal
(a)The President is authorized and urged to award—
(1)to each person who
served at sea as a member of the United States Navy Armed Guard during World
War I or World War II, a special medal of a design appropriate for recognizing
service in the United States Navy Armed Guard, as service in a special force of
the United States Navy, together with accompanying ribbons and appurtenances
and a Presidential Unit Citation; and
(2)to each person who
served exclusively on shore duty as a member of the United States Navy Armed
Guard during World War I or World War II, a special pin or badge of a design
appropriate for recognizing service in the United States Navy Armed Guard as
service in a military organization of the United States Navy.
(b)The medal awarded pursuant to subsection (a) shall be known
as the John Eopolucci United States Navy Armed Guard Service Medal.