1.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.
2.
(a)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)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)
(1)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)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.
3.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.
4.Medals struck pursuant to this Act are
national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States
Code.
5.Authority to use
funds; proceeds of sale
(a)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)Amounts received from the sale of duplicate
bronze medals under section 3 shall be deposited in the United States Mint
Public Enterprise Fund.
Passed the Senate
August 2, 2010.
Secretary