[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 743 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.743

                     One Hundred Sixteenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Friday,
            the third day of January, two thousand and twenty


                                 An Act


 
   To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the soldiers of the 5307th 
Composite Unit (Provisional), commonly known as ``Merrill's Marauders'', 
 in recognition of their bravery and outstanding service in the jungles 
                      of Burma 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 ``Merrill's Marauders Congressional 
Gold Medal Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
    Congress finds that--
        (1) in August 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and other 
    Allied leaders proposed the creation of a ground unit of the Armed 
    Forces that would engage in a ``long-range penetration mission'' in 
    Japanese-occupied Burma to--
            (A) cut off Japanese communications and supply lines; and
            (B) capture the town of Myitkyina and the Myitkyina 
        airstrip, both of which were held by the Japanese;
        (2) President Roosevelt issued a call for volunteers for ``a 
    dangerous and hazardous mission'' and the call was answered by 
    approximately 3,000 soldiers from the United States;
        (3) the Army unit composed of the soldiers described in 
    paragraph (2)--
            (A) was officially designated as the ``5307th Composite 
        Unit (Provisional)'' with the code name ``Galahad''; and
            (B) later became known as ``Merrill's Marauders'' (referred 
        to in this section as the ``Marauders'') in reference to its 
        leader, Brigadier General Frank Merrill;
        (4) in February 1944, the Marauders began their approximately 
    1,000-mile trek through the dense Burmese jungle with no artillery 
    support, carrying their supplies on their backs or the pack saddles 
    of mules;
        (5) over the course of their 5-month trek to Myitkyina, the 
    Marauders fought victoriously against larger Japanese forces 
    through 5 major and 30 minor engagements;
        (6) during their march to Myitkyina, the Marauders faced hunger 
    and disease that were exacerbated by inadequate aerial resupply 
    drops;
        (7) malaria, typhus, and dysentery inflicted more casualties on 
    the Marauders than the Japanese;
        (8) by August 1944, the Marauders had accomplished their 
    mission, successfully disrupting Japanese supply and communication 
    lines and taking the town of Myitkyina and the Myitkyina airstrip, 
    the only all-weather airstrip in Northern Burma;
        (9) after taking Myitkyina, only 130 Marauders out of the 
    original 2,750 were fit for duty and all remaining Marauders still 
    in action were evacuated to hospitals due to tropical diseases, 
    exhaustion, and malnutrition;
        (10) for their bravery and accomplishments, the Marauders were 
    awarded the ``Distinguished Unit Citation'', later redesignated as 
    the ``Presidential Unit Citation'', and a Bronze Star; and
        (11) though the Marauders were operational for only a few 
    months, the legacy of their bravery is honored by the Army through 
    the modern day 75th Ranger Regiment, which traces its lineage 
    directly to the 5307th Composite Unit.
SEC. 3. 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 Congress, of a single gold 
medal of appropriate design to the soldiers of the 5307th Composite 
Unit (Provisional) (referred to in this section as ``Merrill's 
Marauders''), in recognition of their bravery and outstanding service 
in the jungles of Burma during World War II.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes of the award referred to 
in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (referred to in this 
Act as the ``Secretary'') shall strike a 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 referred 
    to in subsection (a) in honor of Merrill's Marauders, the gold 
    medal shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where it shall 
    be displayed 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 and events associated with Merrill's Marauders.
SEC. 4. 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 3, at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the 
medals, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and 
overhead expenses.
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.
    Medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals for purposes 
of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

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