[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 127 (Tuesday, October 4, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11055-S11056]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     AWARDING OF A CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL TO THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on Banking be discharged from further consideration of S. 392 and the 
Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will report the bill by title.

[[Page S11056]]

  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 392) to authorize the President to award a gold 
     medal on behalf of Congress, collectively, to the Tuskegee 
     Airmen in recognition of their unique military record, which 
     inspired revolutionary reform in the Armed Forces.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the bill be read a 
third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, 
and any statements relating to the measure be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 392) was read the third time and passed, as follows:

                                 S. 392

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt overruled his 
     top generals and ordered the creation of an all Black flight 
     training program. President Roosevelt took this action one 
     day after the NAACP filed suit on behalf of Howard University 
     student Yancy Williams and others in Federal court to force 
     the Department of War to accept Black pilot trainees. Yancy 
     Williams had a civilian pilot's license and had earned an 
     engineering degree. Years later, Major Yancy Williams 
     participated in an air surveillance project created by 
     President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
       (2) Due to the rigid system of racial segregation that 
     prevailed in the United States during World War II, Black 
     military pilots were trained at a separate airfield built 
     near Tuskegee, Alabama. They became known as the ``Tuskegee 
     Airmen''.
       (3) The Tuskegee Airmen inspired revolutionary reform in 
     the Armed Forces, paving the way for full racial integration 
     in the Armed Forces. They overcame the enormous challenges of 
     prejudice and discrimination, succeeding, despite obstacles 
     that threatened failure.
       (4) From all accounts, the training of the Tuskegee Airmen 
     was an experiment established to prove that so-called 
     ``coloreds'' were incapable of operating expensive and 
     complex combat aircraft. Studies commissioned by the Army War 
     College between 1924 and 1939 concluded that Blacks were 
     unfit for leadership roles and incapable of aviation. 
     Instead, the Tuskegee Airmen excelled.
       (5) Overall, some 992 Black pilots graduated from the pilot 
     training program of the Tuskegee Army Air Field, with the 
     last class finishing in June 1946, 450 of whom served in 
     combat. The first class of cadets began in July 1941 with 13 
     airmen, all of whom had college degrees, some with Ph.D.'s, 
     and all of whom had pilot's licenses. One of the graduates 
     was Captain Benjamin O. Davis Jr., a United States Military 
     Academy graduate. Four aviation cadets were commissioned as 
     second lieutenants, and 5 received Army Air Corps silver 
     pilot wings.
       (6) That the experiment achieved success rather than the 
     expected failure is further evidenced by the eventual 
     promotion of 3 of these pioneers through the commissioned 
     officer ranks to flag rank, including the late General 
     Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., United States Air Force, the late 
     General Daniel ``Chappie'' James, United States Air Force, 
     our Nation's first Black 4-star general, and Major General 
     Lucius Theus, United States Air Force (retired).
       (7) Four hundred fifty Black fighter pilots under the 
     command of then Colonel Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., fought in 
     World War II aerial battles over North Africa, Sicily, and 
     Europe, flying, in succession, P-40, P-39, P-47, and P-51 
     aircraft. These gallant men flew 15,553 sorties and 1,578 
     missions with the 12th Tactical Air Force and the 15th 
     Strategic Air Force.
       (8) Colonel Davis later became the first Black flag officer 
     of the United States Air Force, retired as a 3-star general, 
     and was honored with a 4th star in retirement by President 
     William J. Clinton.
       (9) German pilots, who both feared and respected the 
     Tuskegee Airmen, called them the ``Schwartze Vogelmenshen'' 
     (or ``Black Birdmen''). White American bomber crews 
     reverently referred to them as the ``Black Redtail Angels'', 
     because of the bright red painted on the tail assemblies of 
     their fighter aircraft and because of their reputation for 
     not losing bombers to enemy fighters as they provided close 
     escort for bombing missions over strategic targets in Europe.
       (10) The 99th Fighter Squadron, after having distinguished 
     itself over North Africa, Sicily, and Italy, joined 3 other 
     Black squadrons, the 100th, the 301st, and the 302nd, 
     designated as the 332nd Fighter Group. They then comprised 
     the largest fighter unit in the 15th Air Force. From Italian 
     bases, they destroyed many enemy targets on the ground and at 
     sea, including a German destroyer in strafing attacks, and 
     they destroyed numerous enemy aircraft in the air and on the 
     ground.
       (11) Sixty-six of these pilots were killed in combat, while 
     another 32 were either forced down or shot down and captured 
     to become prisoners of war. These Black airmen came home with 
     150 Distinguished Flying Crosses, Bronze Stars, Silver Stars, 
     and Legions of Merit, one Presidential Unit Citation, and the 
     Red Star of Yugoslavia.
       (12) Other Black pilots, navigators, bombardiers and 
     crewman who were trained for medium bombardment duty as the 
     477th Bomber Group (Medium) were joined by veterans of the 
     332nd Fighter Group to form the 477th Composite Group, flying 
     the B-25 and P-47 aircraft. The demands of the members of the 
     477th Composite Group for parity in treatment and for 
     recognition as competent military professionals, combined 
     with the magnificent wartime records of the 99th Fighter 
     Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group, led to a review of the 
     racial policies of the Department of War.
       (13) In September 1947, the United States Air Force, as a 
     separate service, reactivated the 332d Fighter Group under 
     the Tactical Air command. Members of the 332d Fighter Group 
     were ``Top Guns'' in the 1st annual Air Force Gunnery Meet in 
     1949.
       (14) For every Black pilot there were 12 other civilian or 
     military Black men and women performing ground support 
     duties. Many of these men and women remained in the military 
     service during the post-World War II era and spearheaded the 
     integration of the Armed Forces of the United States.
       (15) Major achievements are attributed to many of those who 
     returned to civilian life and earned leadership positions and 
     respect as businessmen, corporate executives, religious 
     leaders, lawyers, doctors, educators, bankers, and political 
     leaders.
       (16) A period of nearly 30 years of anonymity for the 
     Tuskegee Airmen was ended in 1972 with the founding of 
     Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., in Detroit, Michigan. Organized as a 
     non-military and nonprofit entity, Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., 
     exists primarily to motivate and inspire young Americans to 
     become participants in our Nation's society and its 
     democratic process, and to preserve the history of their 
     legacy.
       (17) The Tuskegee Airmen have several memorials in place to 
     perpetuate the memory of who they were and what they 
     accomplished, including--
       (A) the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., National Scholarship Fund 
     for high school seniors who excel in mathematics, but need 
     financial assistance to begin a college program;
       (B) a museum in historic Fort Wayne in Detroit, Michigan;
       (C) Memorial Park at the Air Force Museum at Wright-
     Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio;
       (D) a statue of a Tuskegee Airman in the Honor Park at the 
     United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, 
     Colorado; and
       (E) a National Historic Site at Moton Field, where primary 
     flight training was performed under contract with the 
     Tuskegee Institute.

     SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

       (a) Presentation Authorized.--The President is authorized 
     to award to the Tuskegee Airmen, on behalf of Congress, a 
     gold medal of appropriate design honoring the Tuskegee Airmen 
     in recognition of their unique military record, which 
     inspired revolutionary reform in the Armed Forces.
       (b) Design and Striking.--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 a gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and 
     inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary.

     SEC. 3. 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 2, at a price sufficient to 
     cover the costs of the medals, including labor, materials, 
     dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses.

     SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS.

       Medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals for 
     purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.

     SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.

       (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--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 under section 2.
       (b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of 
     duplicate bronze medals under section 3 shall be deposited in 
     the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.

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