[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2825 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.2825

                     One Hundred Eighteenth 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 twenty four


                                 An Act


 
 To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the United States Army Dustoff 
    crews of the Vietnam War, collectively, in recognition of their 
        extraordinary heroism and life-saving actions in Vietnam.

    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 ``Dustoff Crews of the Vietnam War 
Congressional Gold Medal Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
    The Congress finds that--
        (1) a United States Army Dustoff crewman, including a pilot, 
    crew chief, and medic, is a helicopter crew member who served 
    honorably during the Vietnam War aboard helicopter air ambulances, 
    which were both nondivision and division assets under the radio 
    call signs ``Dustoff'' and ``Medevac'';
        (2) Dustoff crews performed aeromedical evacuation for United 
    States, Vietnamese, and allied forces in Southeast Asia from May 
    1962 through March 1973;
        (3) nearing the end of World War II, the United States Army 
    began using helicopters for medical evacuation and years later, 
    during the Korean War, these helicopter air ambulances were 
    responsible for transporting 17,700 United States casualties;
        (4) during the Vietnam War, with the use of helicopter air 
    ambulances, United States Army Dustoff crews pioneered the concept 
    of dedicated and rapid medical evacuation and transported almost 
    900,000 United States, South Vietnamese, and other allied sick and 
    wounded, as well as wounded enemy forces;
        (5) helicopters proved to be a revolutionary tool to assist 
    those injured on the battlefield;
        (6) highly skilled and intrepid, Dustoff crews were able to 
    operate the helicopters and land them on almost any terrain in 
    nearly any weather to pick up wounded, after which the Dustoff 
    crews could provide care to these patients while transporting them 
    to ready medical facilities;
        (7) the vital work of the Dustoff crews required consistent 
    combat exposure and often proved to be the difference between life 
    and death for wounded personnel;
        (8) the revolutionary concept of a dedicated combat life-saving 
    system was cultivated and refined by United States Army Dustoff 
    crews during 11 years of intense conflict in and above the jungles 
    of Southeast Asia;
        (9) innovative and resourceful Dustoff crews in Vietnam were 
    responsible for taking the new concept of helicopter medical 
    evacuation, born just a few years earlier, and revolutionizing it 
    to meet and surpass the previously unattainable goal of delivering 
    a battlefield casualty to an operating table within the vaunted 
    ``golden hour'';
        (10) some Dustoff units in Vietnam operated so efficiently that 
    they were able to deliver a patient to a waiting medical facility 
    on an average of 50 minutes from the receipt of the mission, which 
    saved the lives of countless personnel in Vietnam, and this legacy 
    continues for modern-day Dustoff crews;
        (11) the inherent danger of being a member of a Dustoff crew in 
    Vietnam meant that there was a 1 in 3 chance of being wounded or 
    killed;
        (12) many battles during the Vietnam War raged at night, and 
    members of the Dustoff crews often found themselves searching for a 
    landing zone in complete darkness, in bad weather, over mountainous 
    terrain, and all while being the target of intense enemy fire as 
    they attempted to rescue the wounded, which caused Dustoff crews to 
    suffer a rate of aircraft loss that was more than 3 times that of 
    all other types of combat helicopter missions in Vietnam;
        (13) the 54th Medical Detachment typified the constant heroism 
    displayed by Dustoff crews in Vietnam, over the span of a 10-month 
    tour, with only 3 flyable helicopters and 40 soldiers in the unit, 
    evacuating 21,435 patients in 8,644 missions while being airborne 
    for 4,832 hours;
        (14) collectively, the members of the 54th Medical Detachment 
    earned 78 awards for valor, including 1 Medal of Honor, 1 
    Distinguished Service Cross, 14 Silver Star Medals, 26 
    Distinguished Flying Crosses, 2 Bronze Star Medals for valor, 4 Air 
    Medals for valor, 4 Soldier's Medals, and 26 Purple Heart Medals;
        (15) the 54th Medical Detachment displayed heroism on a daily 
    basis and set the standard for all Dustoff crews in Vietnam;
        (16) 6 members of the 54th Medical Detachment are in the 
    Dustoff Hall of Fame, 3 are in the Army Aviation Hall of Fame, and 
    1 is the only United States Army aviator in the National Aviation 
    Hall of Fame;
        (17) Dustoff crew members are among the most highly decorated 
    soldiers in United States military history;
        (18) in early 1964, Major Charles L. Kelly was the Commanding 
    Officer of the 57th Medical Detachment (Helicopter Ambulance), 
    Provisional, in Soc Trang, South Vietnam;
        (19) Major Kelly helped to forge the Dustoff call sign into 
    history as one of the most welcomed phrases to be heard over the 
    radio by wounded soldiers in perilous and dire situations;
        (20) in 1964, Major Kelly was killed in action as he gallantly 
    maneuvered his aircraft to save a wounded United States soldier and 
    several Vietnamese soldiers and boldly replied, after being warned 
    to stay away from the landing zone due to the ferocity of enemy 
    fire, ``When I have your wounded.'';
        (21) General William Westmoreland, Commander of the Military 
    Assistance Command, Vietnam from 1964 to 1968, singled out Major 
    Kelly as an example of ``the greatness of the human spirit'' and 
    highlighted his famous reply as an inspiration to all in combat;
        (22) General Creighton Abrams, successor to General 
    Westmoreland from 1968 to 1972, and former Chief of Staff of the 
    United States Army, highlighted the heroism of Dustoff crews, ``A 
    special word about the Dustoffs . . . . Courage above and beyond 
    the call of duty was sort of routine to them. It was a daily thing, 
    part of the way they lived. That's the great part, and it meant so 
    much to every last man who served there. Whether he ever got hurt 
    or not, he knew Dustoff was there.'';
        (23) Dustoff crews possessed unique skills and traits that made 
    them highly successful in aeromedical evacuation in Vietnam, 
    including indomitable courage, extraordinary aviation skill and 
    sound judgment under fire, high-level medical expertise, and an 
    unequaled dedication to the preservation of human life;
        (24) members of the United States Armed Forces on the ground in 
    Vietnam had their confidence and battlefield prowess reinforced 
    knowing that there were heroic Dustoff crews just a few minutes 
    from the fight, which was instrumental to their well-being, 
    willingness to fight, and morale;
        (25) military families in the United States knew that their 
    loved ones would receive the quickest and best possible care in the 
    event of a war-time injury, thanks to the Dustoff crews;
        (26) the willingness of Dustoff crews to also risk their lives 
    to save helpless civilians left an immeasurably positive impression 
    on the people of Vietnam and exemplified the finest United States 
    ideals of compassion and humanity; and
        (27) Dustoff crews from the Vietnam War hailed from every State 
    in the United States and represented numerous ethnic, religious, 
    and cultural backgrounds.
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
    (a) Presentation Authorized.--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 Congress, 
of a single gold medal of appropriate design in honor of the Dustoff 
crews of the Vietnam War, collectively, in recognition of their heroic 
military service, which saved countless lives and contributed directly 
to the defense of the United States.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For purposes of the presentation 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, 
in consultation with the Secretary of Defense.
    (c) U.S. Army Medical Department Museum.--
        (1) In general.--Following the award of the gold medal in honor 
    of the Dustoff Crews of the Vietnam War, the gold medal shall be 
    given to the U.S. Army Medical Department Museum, where it will be 
    available for display as appropriate and available for research.
        (2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
    U.S. Army Medical Department Museum should make the gold medal 
    awarded pursuant to this Act available for display elsewhere, 
    particularly at appropriate locations associated with the Vietnam 
    War, and that preference should be given to locations affiliated 
    with the U.S. Army Medical Department Museum.
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
    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 
thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and 
overhead expenses.
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.
    (a) National Medal.--Medals struck pursuant to this Act are 
national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States 
Code.
    (b) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of sections 5134 and 5136 of 
title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be 
considered to be numismatic items.
SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.
    (a) Authority To Use Fund Amounts.--There is authorized to be 
charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund such 
amounts as may be necessary to pay for the costs of the medals struck 
under this Act.
    (b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of duplicate 
bronze medals authorized under section 4 shall be deposited into the 
United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

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