[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1055 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.1055

                      One Hundred Eleventh Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
             the fifth day of January, two thousand and ten


                                 An Act


 
   To grant the congressional gold medal, collectively, to the 100th 
 Infantry Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, United States 
  Army, in recognition of their dedicated service 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. FINDINGS.
    Congress makes the following findings:
        (1) On January 19, 1942, 6 weeks after the December 7, 1941, 
    attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese Navy, the United States Army 
    discharged all Japanese-Americans in the Reserve Officers Training 
    Corps and changed their draft status to ``4C''--the status of 
    ``enemy alien'' which is ineligible for the draft.
        (2) On January 23, 1942, Japanese-Americans in the military on 
    the mainland were segregated out of their units.
        (3) Further, on May 3, 1942, General John L. DeWitt issued 
    Civilian Exclusion Order No. 346, ordering all people of Japanese 
    ancestry, whether citizens or noncitizens, to report to assembly 
    centers, where they would live until being moved to permanent 
    relocation centers.
        (4) On June 5, 1942, 1,432 predominantly Nisei (second 
    generation Americans of Japanese ancestry) members of the Hawaii 
    Provisional Infantry Battalion were shipped from the Hawaiian 
    Islands to Oakland, CA, where the 100th Infantry Battalion was 
    activated on June 12, 1942, and then shipped to train at Camp 
    McCoy, Wisconsin.
        (5) The excellent training record of the 100th Infantry 
    Battalion and petitions from prominent civilian and military 
    personnel helped convince President Roosevelt and the War 
    Department to reopen military service to Nisei volunteers who were 
    incorporated into the 442nd Regimental Combat Team after it was 
    activated in February of 1943.
        (6) In that same month, the 100th Infantry Battalion was 
    transferred to Camp Shelby, Mississippi, where it continued to 
    train, and even though the battalion was ready to deploy shortly 
    thereafter, the battalion was refused by General Eisenhower, due to 
    concerns over the loyalty and patriotism of the Nisei.
        (7) The 442nd Regimental Combat Team later trained with the 
    100th Infantry Battalion at Camp Shelby in May of 1943.
        (8) Eventually, the 100th Infantry Battalion was deployed to 
    the Mediterranean and entered combat in Italy on September 26, 
    1943.
        (9) Due to their bravery and valor, members of the Battalion 
    were honored with 6 awards of the Distinguished Service Cross in 
    the first 8 weeks of combat.
        (10) The 100th Battalion fought at Cassino, Italy in January 
    1944, and later accompanied the 34th Infantry Division to Anzio, 
    Italy.
        (11) The 442nd Regimental Combat Team arrived in Civitavecchia, 
    Italy on June 7, 1944, and on June 15 of the following week, the 
    100th Infantry Battalion was formally made an integral part of the 
    442nd Regimental Combat Team, and fought for the last 11 months of 
    the war with distinction in Italy, southern France, and Germany.
        (12) The battalion was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation 
    for its actions in battle on June 26-27, 1944.
        (13) The 442nd Regimental became the most decorated unit in 
    United States military history for its size and length of service.
        (14) The 100th Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, 
    received 7 Presidential Unit Citations, 21 Medals of Honor, 29 
    Distinguished Service Crosses, 560 Silver Stars, 4,000 Bronze 
    Stars, 22 Legion of Merit Medals, 15 Soldier's Medals, and over 
    4,000 Purple Hearts, among numerous additional distinctions.
        (15) The United States remains forever indebted to the bravery, 
    valor, and dedication to country these men faced while fighting a 
    2-fronted battle of discrimination at home and fascism abroad.
        (16) Their commitment and sacrifice demonstrates a highly 
    uncommon and commendable sense of patriotism and honor.
        (17) The Military Intelligence Service (in this Act referred to 
    as the ``MIS'') was made up of about 6,000 Japanese American 
    soldiers who conducted highly classified intelligence operations 
    that proved to be vital to United States military successes in the 
    Pacific Theatre.
        (18) As they were discharged from the Army, MIS soldiers were 
    told not to discuss their wartime work, due to its sensitive 
    nature, and their contributions were not known until passage of the 
    Freedom of Information Act in 1974.
        (19) MIS soldiers were attached individually or in small groups 
    to United States and Allied combat units, where they intercepted 
    radio transmissions, translated enemy documents, interrogated enemy 
    prisoners of war, volunteered for reconnaissance and covert 
    intelligence missions, and persuaded enemy combatants to surrender.
        (20) Their contributions continued during the Allied postwar 
    occupation of Japan, and MIS linguistic skills and understanding of 
    Japanese customs were invaluable to occupation forces as they 
    assisted Japan in a peaceful transition to a new, democratic form 
    of government.
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 to the 100th Infantry Battalion, the 442nd 
Regimental Combat Team, and the Military Intelligence Service, United 
States Army, collectively, in recognition of their dedicated service 
during World War II.
    (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 100th Infantry Battalion, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, 
    and the Military Intelligence Service, United States Army, 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 of congress.--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 100th Infantry 
    Battalion, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and the Military 
    Intelligence Service, United States Army.
SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
    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. AUTHORITY TO USE FUNDS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.
    (a) Authority To Use Funds.--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 medal 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.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.