    [United States Statutes at Large, Volume 132, 115th Congress, 2nd Session]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    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. <>

    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 ``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 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 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 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:
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 164 (2018):
    Sept. 12, considered and passed Senate.
    Dec. 12, considered and passed House.