[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1050 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.1050
One Hundred Fifteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the third day of January, two thousand and eighteen
An Act
To award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the Chinese-
American Veterans of World War II, 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. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Chinese-American World War II
Veteran Congressional Gold Medal Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) Chinese Americans served the United States in every
conflict since the Civil War, and distinguished themselves in World
War II, serving in every theater of war and every branch of
service, earning citations for their heroism and honorable service,
including the Medal of Honor;
(2) Chinese nationals and Chinese Americans faced institutional
discrimination in the United States since before World War II,
limiting the size of their population and their ability to build
thriving communities in the United States;
(3) the Act entitled ``An Act to execute certain treaty
stipulations relating to Chinese'', approved May 6, 1882 (commonly
known as the ``Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882'') (22 Stat. 58,
chapter 126), was the first Federal law that broadly restricted
immigration and a specific nationality, making it illegal for
Chinese laborers to immigrate to the United States and limiting the
Chinese population in the United States for over 60 years;
(4) major court decisions such as the decisions in Lum v. Rice,
275 U.S. 78 (1927), and People v. Hall, 4 Cal. 399 (1854), found
``yellow'' races to be equal to African Americans with regard to
``separate but equal'' school facilities, and prohibited Chinese
Americans, along with ``Black, mulatto, or Indian'' persons, from
testifying against White men;
(5) Chinese Americans were harassed, beaten, and murdered
because of their ethnicity, including the Chinese Massacre of 1871,
where 17 Chinese immigrants in Los Angeles, California, were
tortured and murdered, the Rock Springs Massacre of 1885 where
White rioters killed 28 Chinese miners and burned 75 of their homes
in Rock Springs, Wyoming, and the Hells Canyon Massacre of 1887
where 34 Chinese gold miners were ambushed and murdered in Hells
Canyon, Oregon;
(6) there were only 78,000 Chinese Americans living on the
United States mainland, with 29,000 living in Hawaii, at the start
of World War II as result of Federal and State legislation and
judicial decisions;
(7) despite the anti-Chinese discrimination at the time, as
many as 20,000 Chinese Americans served in the Armed Forces during
World War II, of whom, approximately 40 percent were not United
States citizens due to the laws that denied citizenship to persons
of Chinese descent;
(8) Chinese Americans, although small in numbers, made
important contributions to the World War II effort;
(9) of the total Chinese Americans serving, approximately 25
percent served in the United States Army Air Force, with some sent
to the China-Burma-India Theater with the 14th Air Service Group;
(10) the remainder of Chinese Americans who served in World War
II served in all branches of the Armed Forces in all 4 theaters of
war;
(11) the first all Chinese-American group was the 14th Air
Service Group in the China-Burma-India Theater which enabled
extensive and effective operations against the Japanese military in
China;
(12) Chinese Americans are widely acknowledged for their role
in the 14th Air Force, widely known as the Flying Tigers;
(13) Chinese Americans assigned to the China-Burma-India
Theater made transoceanic journeys through hostile territories and
were subject to enemy attack while at sea and in the air;
(14) in the Pacific Theater, Chinese Americans were in ground,
air, and ocean combat and support roles throughout the Pacific
including New Guinea, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, Iwo Jima,
Okinawa, Philippines, Mariana Islands, and Aleutian Islands;
(15) throughout the Pacific and China-Burma-India theaters,
Chinese Americans performed vital functions in translating,
coordinating Nationalist Chinese and United States combat
operations, servicing and repairing aircraft and armaments,
training Nationalist Chinese troops and sailors, delivering medical
care, providing signal and communication support, gathering and
analyzing intelligence, participating in ground and air combat, and
securing and delivering supplies;
(16) Chinese Americans also served in combat and support roles
in the European and African theaters, serving in North Africa,
Sicily, Italy, the Normandy D-Day invasion, which liberated Western
Europe, and the Battle of the Bulge, occupying Western Germany
while helping to liberate Central Europe;
(17) Chinese Americans flew bomber missions, served in infantry
units and combat ships in the Battle of the Atlantic, including
aboard Merchant Marines convoys vulnerable to submarine and air
attacks;
(18) many Chinese-American women served in the Women's Army
Corps, the Army Air Forces, and the United States Naval Reserve
Women's Reserve, and some became pilots, air traffic controllers,
flight trainers, weather forecasters, occupational therapists, and
nurses;
(19) Captain Francis B. Wai is the only Chinese American who
served in World War II to have been awarded the Medal of Honor, the
highest military award given by the United States
(20) Chinese Americans also earned Combat Infantry Badges,
Purple Hearts, Bronze Stars, Silver Stars, Distinguished Service
Cross, and Distinguished Flying Cross;
(21) units of the Armed Forces with Chinese Americans were also
awarded unit citations for valor and bravery;
(22) the United States remains forever indebted to the bravery,
valor, and dedication that the Chinese-American Veterans of World
War II displayed; and
(23) the commitment and sacrifice of Chinese Americans
demonstrates a highly uncommon and commendable sense of patriotism
and honor in the face of discrimination.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act--
(1) the term ``Chinese-American Veterans of World II'' includes
individuals of Chinese ancestry who served--
(A) honorably at any time during the period December 7,
1941, and ending December 31, 1946; and
(B) in an active duty status under the command of the Armed
Forces; and
(2) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the Treasury.
SEC. 4. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
(a) Award Authorized.--The President Pro Tempore of the Senate and
the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall make appropriate
arrangements for the award, on behalf of Congress, of a single gold
medal of appropriate design to the Chinese-American Veterans of World
War II, 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 shall strike the gold medal with
suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the
Secretary.
(c) Smithsonian Institute.--
(1) In general.--Following the award of the gold medal in honor
of the Chinese-American Veterans of World War II, the gold medal
shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where it shall be
available for display as appropriate and made available for
research.
(2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the
Smithsonian Institution should make the gold medal received under
paragraph (1) available for display elsewhere, particularly at
other locations associated with the Chinese-American Veterans of
World II or with World War II.
(d) Duplicate Medals.--Under regulations that the Secretary may
promulgate, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of
the gold medal struck under this Act, at a price sufficient to cover
the cost of the medals, including labor, materials, dies, use of
machinery, and overhead expenses.
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDAL.
(a) National Medal.--The gold medal struck under this Act shall be
a national medal for the purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, Unites
States Code.
(b) Numismatic Items.--For purpose of section 5134 of title 31,
United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be
considered to be numismatic items.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.