1.This Act may be cited as the
Louis Zamperini Congressional Gold
Medal Act
.
2.The Congress finds the following:
(1)Louis Zamperini
was born in Olean, New York, on January 26, 1917, and was raised in Torrance,
California.
(2)Louis Zamperini
attended the University of Southern California where, in 1934, he set a world
interscholastic record for the mile, clocking in at 00:04:21.2 at the
preliminary meet to the State championships.
(3)Louis Zamperini
ran the 5,000 meter distance event in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin,
Germany, the fastest time for an American in the 5,000 distance race that
year.
(4)Selflessly, Louis
Zamperini left a promising career as an Olympic athlete and enlisted in the
United States Army Air Corps in September 1941.
(5)While on a rescue
mission in 1943, Zamperini along with Russel Allen Phil
Philips
and Francis McNamara of the 42nd Bombardment Squadron, 11th Bombardment Group
survived a deadly crash of their B–24 bomber, named Green Hornet.
(6)Zamperini survived
47 days at sea, drifting approximately 2,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean
only to wash ashore on the Marshall Islands, where he and Phillips were taken
prisoner of war by the Japanese military.
(7)For over two
years, Zamperini endured the horrific conditions of his captivity in several
Japanese P.O.W. camps, where he was singled out by guards for extreme forms of
torture because of his celebrity status as an Olympic athlete.
(8)Though the War
Department notified his family that Zamperini was killed in action, Zamperini
survived his captivity and returned home upon the liberation of Japan.
(9)For his
distinguished service during World War II, Captain Zamperini was awarded the
Purple Heart, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and a Prisoner of War
Medal.
(10)Louis Zamperini
overcame severe post traumatic stress disorder from his time as a prisoner of
war to dedicate his life to inspiring others and being an example for other
soldiers to follow.
3.
(a)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 Louis Zamperini, in recognition of his service to the country, sacrifice
during the war, and his inspiration to others through his courage as a
survivor.
(b)For the purpose of the presentation referred to in
subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury shall strike a gold medal with
suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the
Secretary.
4.Under such regulations
as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe, the Secretary may strike
duplicate medals in bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 and
sell such duplicate medals at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the
duplicate medals (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and
overhead expenses) and the cost of the gold medal.
5.
(a)The medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals
for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
(b)For purposes of section 5134 of title 31, United States
Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic
items.
6.
(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 medals authorized by this Act.
(b)Amounts received from the sale of duplicate bronze medals
under section 4 shall be deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise
Fund.