[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 194 (Thursday, December 5, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6895-S6896]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            MERRILL'S MARAUDERS 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. 743 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 bill clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 743) 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.

  There being no objection, the committee was discharged and the Senate 
proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill 
be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to 
reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 743) was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, 
was read the third time, and passed as follows:

                                 S. 743

       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;

[[Page S6896]]

       (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.

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