[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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