[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 130 (Wednesday, August 1, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5560-S5561]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             USS INDIANAPOLIS CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL ACT

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be discharged from 
further consideration of S. 2101 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.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 2101) to award a Congressional Gold Medal, 
     collectively, to the crew of the USS Indianapolis, in 
     recognition of their perseverance, bravery, and service to 
     the United States.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Donnelly amendment, which is at the desk, be considered and agreed to; 
that the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed; 
and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the 
table with no intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 3688) was agreed to, as follows:

                     (Purpose: To improve the bill)

       On page 2, beginning on line 4, strike ``was commanded'' 
     and all that follows through ``Tinian'' on line 7 and insert 
     ``, commanded by Captain Charles Butler McVay III, carried 
     1,195 personnel when it set sail for the island of Tinian''.
       On page 2, line 19, strike ``explosion'' and insert 
     ``explosions''.
       On page 2, line 19, strike ``off''.
       On page 2, line 20, strike ``1,196 crew members'' and 
     insert ``1,195 personnel''.
       On page 2, line 24, strike ``Shortly after 11 a.m.'' and 
     insert ``At 10:25 a.m.''.
       On page 3, line 21, strike ``317 men'' and insert ``316 
     men''.

  The bill (S. 2101), as amended, was ordered to be engrossed for a 
third reading, was read the third time, and passed, as follows:

                                S. 2101

       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 ``USS Indianapolis 
     Congressional Gold Medal Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) The Portland-class heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis 
     received 10 battle stars between February 1942 and April 1945 
     while participating in major battles of World War II from the 
     Aleutian Islands to Okinawa.
       (2) The USS Indianapolis, commanded by Captain Charles 
     Butler McVay III, carried 1,195 personnel when it set sail 
     for the island of Tinian on July 16, 1945, to deliver 
     components of the atomic bomb ``Little Boy''. The USS 
     Indianapolis set a speed record during the portion of the 
     trip from California to Pearl Harbor and successfully 
     delivered the cargo on July 26, 1945. The USS Indianapolis 
     then traveled to Guam and received further orders to join 
     Task Group 95.7 in the Leyte Gulf in the Philippines for 
     training. During the length of the trip, the USS Indianapolis 
     went unescorted.
       (3) On July 30, 1945, minutes after midnight, the USS 
     Indianapolis was hit by 2 torpedoes fired by the I-58, a 
     Japanese submarine. The resulting explosions severed the bow 
     of the ship, sinking the ship in about 12 minutes. Of 1,195 
     personnel, about 900 made it into the water. While a few life 
     rafts were deployed, most men were stranded in the water with 
     only a kapok life jacket.
       (4) At 10:25 a.m. on August 2, 1945, 4 days after the 
     sinking of the USS Indianapolis, Lieutenant Wilbur Gwinn was 
     piloting a PV-1 Ventura bomber and accidentally noticed men 
     in the water who were later determined to be survivors of the 
     sinking of the USS Indianapolis. Lieutenant Gwinn alerted a 
     PBY aircraft, under the command of Lieutenant Adrian Marks, 
     about the disaster. Lieutenant Marks made a dangerous open-
     sea landing to begin rescuing the men before any surface 
     vessels arrived. The USS Cecil J. Doyle was the first surface 
     ship to arrive on the scene and took considerable risk in 
     using a searchlight as a beacon, which gave hope to survivors 
     in the water and encouraged them to make it through another 
     night. The rescue mission continued well into August 3, 1945, 
     and was well-coordinated and responsive once launched. The 
     individuals who participated in the rescue mission conducted 
     a thorough search, saved lives, and undertook the difficult 
     job of identifying the remains of, and providing a proper 
     burial for, those individuals who had died.

[[Page S5561]]

       (5) Only 316 men survived the ordeal and the survivors had 
     to deal with severe burns, exposure to the elements, extreme 
     dehydration, and shark attacks.
       (6) During World War II, the USS Indianapolis frequently 
     served as the flagship for the commander of the Fifth Fleet, 
     Admiral Raymond Spruance, survived a bomb released during a 
     kamikaze attack (which badly damaged the ship and killed 9 
     members of the crew), earned a total of 10 battle stars, and 
     accomplished a top secret mission that was critical to ending 
     the war. The sacrifice, perseverance, and bravery of the crew 
     of the USS Indianapolis should never be forgotten.

     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 crew of the USS Indianapolis, in recognition of their 
     perseverance, bravery, and service to the United States.
       (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 
     the gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and 
     inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary.
       (c) Indiana War Memorial Museum.--
       (1) In general.--Following the award of the gold medal 
     referred to in subsection (a), the gold medal shall be given 
     to the Indiana War Memorial Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana, 
     where it will be displayed as appropriate and made available 
     for research.
       (2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
     the Indiana War Memorial Museum should make the gold medal 
     received under this Act available for display elsewhere, 
     particularly at other locations and events associated with 
     the USS Indianapolis.

     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.

       (a) National Medals.--Medals struck under 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.

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