[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3927 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3927
To grant the congressional gold medal to the Montford Point Marines.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 26, 2009
Ms. Corrine Brown of Florida (for herself, Mr. Filner, Mr. Buyer, Mr.
Rangel, Mr. Jones, Ms. Kilpatrick of Michigan, Mr. Payne, Mrs.
Christensen, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas,
Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Meek of Florida, Mr.
Hastings of Florida, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Snyder, and Mr.
Michaud) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on
House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To grant the congressional gold medal to the Montford Point Marines.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) On June 25, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt
issued Executive Order No. 8802 establishing the Fair
Employment Practices Commission and opening the doors for the
very first African-Americans to enlist in the United States
Marine Corps.
(2) The first Black Marine recruits were trained at Camp
Montford Point, near the New River in Jacksonville, North
Carolina.
(3) On August 26, 1942, Howard P. Perry of Charlotte, North
Carolina, was the first Black private to set foot on Montford
Point.
(4) During April 1943 the first African-American Marine
Drill Instructors took over as the senior Drill Instructors of
the eight platoons then in training; the 16th Platoon (Edgar R.
Huff), 17th (Thomas Brokaw), 18th (Charles E. Allen), 19th
(Gilbert H. Johnson), 20th (Arnold R. Bostic), 21st (Mortimer
A. Cox), 22nd (Edgar R. Davis, Jr.), and 23rd (George A.
Jackson).
(5) Black Marines of the 8th Ammunition Company and the
36th Depot Company landed on the island of Iwo Jima on D-day,
February 19, 1945.
(6) The largest number of Black Marines to serve in combat
during World War II took part in the seizure of Okinawa in the
Ryuku Islands with some 2,000 Black Marines seeing action
during the campaign.
(7) On November 10, 1945, the first African-American
Marine, Frederick C. Branch, was commissioned as a second
lieutenant at the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia.
(8) Overall 19,168 Blacks served in the Marine Corps in
World War II.
(9) An enterprising group of men, including original
Montford Pointer Master Sergeant Brooks E. Gray, planned a
reunion of the Men of Montford Point, and on September 15,
1965, approximately 400 Montford Point Marines gathered at the
Adelphi Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to lay the
foundation for the Montford Point Marine Association Inc., 16
years after the closure of Montford Point as a training
facility for Black recruits.
(10) Organized as a non-military, nonprofit entity, the
Montford Point Marine Association's main mission is to preserve
the legacy of the first Black Marines.
(11) Today the Montford Point Marine Association has 36
chapters throughout the United States.
(12) Many of these first Black Marines stayed in the Marine
Corps like Sergeant Major Edgar R. Huff.
(13) Sergeant Major Huff was one of the very first recruits
aboard Montford Point.
(14) Sergeant Major Huff was also the first African-
American Sergeant Major and the first African-American Marine
to retire with 30 years of service which included combat in
three major wars, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam
War.
(15) During the Tet Offensive, Sergeant Major Huff was
awarded the Bronze Star Medal with combat ``V'' for valor for
saving the life of his radio operator.
(16) Another original Montford Pointer who saw extensive
combat action in both the Korean War and the Vietnam War was
Sergeant Major Louis Roundtree.
(17) Sergeant Major Roundtree was awarded the Silver Star
Medal, four Bronze Star Medals, three Purple Hearts, and
numerous other personal and unit awards for his service during
these conflicts.
(18) On April 19, 1974, Montford Point was renamed Camp
Johnson after legendary Montford Pointer Sergeant Major Gilbert
``Hashmark'' Johnson.
(19) The Montford Point Marine Association has several
memorials in place to perpetuate the memory of the first
African-American Marines and their accomplishments, including--
(A) the Montford Point Marine Association Edgar R.
Huff Memorial Scholarship which is offered annually
through the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation;
(B) the Montford Point Museum located aboard Camp
Johnson (Montford Point) in Jacksonville, North
Carolina;
(C) the Brooks Elbert Gray, Jr. Consolidated
Academic Instruction Facility named in honor of
original Montford Pointer and the Montford Point Marine
Corps Association founder Master Gunnery Sergeant Gray.
This facility was dedicated on 15 April 2005 aboard
Camp Johnson, North Carolina; and
(D) during July of 1997 Branch Hall, a building
within the Officers Candidate School in Quantico,
Virginia, was named in honor of Captain Frederick
Branch.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
(a) Award Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of Representatives
and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate
arrangements for the award, on behalf of the Congress, of a single gold
medal of appropriate design in honor of the Montford Point Marines,
collectively, in recognition of their personal sacrifice and service to
their country.
(b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes of the award referred to
in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act
referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall strike the 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 in
honor of the Montford Point Marines under subsection (a), the
gold medal shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where
it will be displayed as appropriate and made available for
research.
(2) Sense.--It is the sense of the 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
Montford Point Marines.
SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
Under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, the
Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal
struck under section 2, at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the
medals, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and
overhead expenses.
SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS.
Medals struck pursuant to this Act are National medals for purposes
of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.
(a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund, an
amount not to exceed $30,000 to pay for the cost of the medals
authorized under section 2.
(b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of duplicate
bronze medals under section 3 shall be deposited in the United States
Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
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