[115th Congress Public Law 337]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



[[Page 132 STAT. 5029]]

Public Law 115-337
115th Congress

                                 An Act


 
   To award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the Chinese-
  American Veterans of World War II, in recognition of their dedicated 
   service during World War II. <<NOTE: Dec. 20, 2018 -  [S. 1050]>> 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Chinese-American 
World War II Veteran Congressional Gold Medal Act.>> 
SECTION 1. <<NOTE: 31 USC 5111 note.>>  SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Chinese-American World War II Veteran 
Congressional Gold Medal Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) Chinese Americans served the United States in every 
        conflict since the Civil War, and distinguished themselves in 
        World War II, serving in every theater of war and every branch 
        of service, earning citations for their heroism and honorable 
        service, including the Medal of Honor;
            (2) Chinese nationals and Chinese Americans faced 
        institutional discrimination in the United States since before 
        World War II, limiting the size of their population and their 
        ability to build thriving communities in the United States;
            (3) the Act entitled ``An Act to execute certain treaty 
        stipulations relating to Chinese'', approved May 6, 1882 
        (commonly known as the ``Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882'') (22 
        Stat. 58, chapter 126), was the first Federal law that broadly 
        restricted immigration and a specific nationality, making it 
        illegal for Chinese laborers to immigrate to the United States 
        and limiting the Chinese population in the United States for 
        over 60 years;
            (4) major court decisions such as the decisions in Lum v. 
        Rice, 275 U.S. 78 (1927), and People v. Hall, 4 Cal. 399 (1854), 
        found ``yellow'' races to be equal to African Americans with 
        regard to ``separate but equal'' school facilities, and 
        prohibited Chinese Americans, along with ``Black, mulatto, or 
        Indian'' persons, from testifying against White men;
            (5) Chinese Americans were harassed, beaten, and murdered 
        because of their ethnicity, including the Chinese Massacre of 
        1871, where 17 Chinese immigrants in Los Angeles, California, 
        were tortured and murdered, the Rock Springs Massacre of 1885 
        where White rioters killed 28 Chinese miners and burned 75 of 
        their homes in Rock Springs, Wyoming, and the Hells Canyon 
        Massacre of 1887 where 34 Chinese gold miners were ambushed and 
        murdered in Hells Canyon, Oregon;
            (6) there were only 78,000 Chinese Americans living on the 
        United States mainland, with 29,000 living in Hawaii,

[[Page 132 STAT. 5030]]

        at the start of World War II as result of Federal and State 
        legislation and judicial decisions;
            (7) despite the anti-Chinese discrimination at the time, as 
        many as 20,000 Chinese Americans served in the Armed Forces 
        during World War II, of whom, approximately 40 percent were not 
        United States citizens due to the laws that denied citizenship 
        to persons of Chinese descent;
            (8) Chinese Americans, although small in numbers, made 
        important contributions to the World War II effort;
            (9) of the total Chinese Americans serving, approximately 25 
        percent served in the United States Army Air Force, with some 
        sent to the China-Burma-India Theater with the 14th Air Service 
        Group;
            (10) the remainder of Chinese Americans who served in World 
        War II served in all branches of the Armed Forces in all 4 
        theaters of war;
            (11) the first all Chinese-American group was the 14th Air 
        Service Group in the China-Burma-India Theater which enabled 
        extensive and effective operations against the Japanese military 
        in China;
            (12) Chinese Americans are widely acknowledged for their 
        role in the 14th Air Force, widely known as the Flying Tigers;
            (13) Chinese Americans assigned to the China-Burma-India 
        Theater made transoceanic journeys through hostile territories 
        and were subject to enemy attack while at sea and in the air;
            (14) in the Pacific Theater, Chinese Americans were in 
        ground, air, and ocean combat and support roles throughout the 
        Pacific including New Guinea, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, Iwo 
        Jima, Okinawa, Philippines, Mariana Islands, and Aleutian 
        Islands;
            (15) throughout the Pacific and China-Burma-India theaters, 
        Chinese Americans performed vital functions in translating, 
        coordinating Nationalist Chinese and United States combat 
        operations, servicing and repairing aircraft and armaments, 
        training Nationalist Chinese troops and sailors, delivering 
        medical care, providing signal and communication support, 
        gathering and analyzing intelligence, participating in ground 
        and air combat, and securing and delivering supplies;
            (16) Chinese Americans also served in combat and support 
        roles in the European and African theaters, serving in North 
        Africa, Sicily, Italy, the Normandy D-Day invasion, which 
        liberated Western Europe, and the Battle of the Bulge, occupying 
        Western Germany while helping to liberate Central Europe;
            (17) Chinese Americans flew bomber missions, served in 
        infantry units and combat ships in the Battle of the Atlantic, 
        including aboard Merchant Marines convoys vulnerable to 
        submarine and air attacks;
            (18) many Chinese-American women served in the Women's Army 
        Corps, the Army Air Forces, and the United States Naval Reserve 
        Women's Reserve, and some became pilots, air traffic 
        controllers, flight trainers, weather forecasters, occupational 
        therapists, and nurses;
            (19) Captain Francis B. Wai is the only Chinese American who 
        served in World War II to have been awarded the Medal of Honor, 
        the highest military award given by the United States

[[Page 132 STAT. 5031]]

            (20) Chinese Americans also earned Combat Infantry Badges, 
        Purple Hearts, Bronze Stars, Silver Stars, Distinguished Service 
        Cross, and Distinguished Flying Cross;
            (21) units of the Armed Forces with Chinese Americans were 
        also awarded unit citations for valor and bravery;
            (22) the United States remains forever indebted to the 
        bravery, valor, and dedication that the Chinese-American 
        Veterans of World War II displayed; and
            (23) the commitment and sacrifice of Chinese Americans 
        demonstrates a highly uncommon and commendable sense of 
        patriotism and honor in the face of discrimination.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
            (1) the term ``Chinese-American Veterans of World II'' 
        includes individuals of Chinese ancestry who served--
                    (A) honorably at any time during the period December 
                7, 1941, and ending December 31, 1946; and
                    (B) in an active duty status under the command of 
                the Armed Forces; and
            (2) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the 
        Treasury.
SEC. 4. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

    (a) Award Authorized.--The President Pro Tempore of the Senate and 
the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall make appropriate 
arrangements for the award, on behalf of Congress, of a single gold 
medal of appropriate design to the Chinese-American Veterans of World 
War II, in recognition of their dedicated service during World War II.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes of the award referred to 
in subsection (a), the Secretary shall strike the gold medal with 
suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the 
Secretary.
    (c) Smithsonian Institute.--
            (1) In general.--Following the award of the gold medal in 
        honor of the Chinese-American Veterans of World War II, the gold 
        medal shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where it 
        shall be available for display 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 associated with the Chinese-
        American Veterans of World II or with World War II.

    (d) Duplicate Medals.--Under regulations that the Secretary may 
promulgate, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of 
the gold medal struck under this Act, at a price sufficient to cover the 
cost of the medals, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, 
and overhead expenses.
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDAL.

    (a) National Medal.--The gold medal struck under this Act shall be a 
national medal for the purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, Unites States 
Code.

[[Page 132 STAT. 5032]]

    (b) Numismatic Items.--For purpose of section 5134 of title 31, 
United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be considered 
to be numismatic items.

    Approved December 20, 2018.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 1050:
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 164 (2018):
            Sept. 12, considered and passed Senate.
            Dec. 12, considered and passed House.

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