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

    Public Law 115-338
    115th Congress

    An Act

    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. <>

    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

    [[Page 5034]]

    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.
    (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.

    [[Page 5035]]

    (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.

    Approved December 20, 2018.

    LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 2101:
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    CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 164 (2018):
    Aug. 1, considered and passed Senate.
    Dec. 12, considered and passed House.