USS Indianapolis Congressional Gold Medal Act
This bill requires the House of Representatives and the Senate to 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.
Following the award of the gold medal, it shall be given to the Indiana War Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana, where it will be displayed and made available for research.
The bill expresses the sense of Congress that the Indiana War Memorial Museum should make the gold medal available for display elsewhere, particularly at other locations and events associated with the USS Indianapolis.
[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4107 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4107
To award a Congressional gold medal, collectively, to the crew of the
USS Indianapolis, in recognition of their perseverance, their bravery,
and their service to the nation.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 24, 2017
Mr. Bishop of Michigan (for himself, Mr. Roe of Tennessee, Mr. Ryan of
Ohio, Mr. Fortenberry, Mr. Smith of Nebraska, and Mr. Gosar) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial
Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To award a Congressional gold medal, collectively, to the crew of the
USS Indianapolis, in recognition of their perseverance, their bravery,
and their service to the nation.
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.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The USS Indianapolis (CA-35) was a Portland-class heavy
cruiser that fought in the Aleutians, the Gilbert and Marshall
Islands, Saipan, the battle of the Philippine Sea, Tinian,
Guam, the Caroline Islands, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa for the
United States Navy.
(2) The USS Indianapolis was manned by Captain Charles
Butler McVay III and 1,197 other crew members 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 then made its way to Guam and received further
orders to join the battleship USS Idaho in the Leyte Gulf in
the Philippines. During the length of the trip, the USS
Indianapolis went unescorted by a destroyer due to the immense
covertness of the operation.
(3) On July 30, 1945, at 14 minutes pass midnight, the USS
Indianapolis was hit by two torpedoes fired by the I-58, a
Japanese submarine. The resulting explosion split the ship to
the keel, sinking the ship in about twelve minutes. Of 1,197
crew members, 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) Shortly after 11:00 A.M. on August 2, 1945, four days
after the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, Lieutenant Wilbur
Gwinn was piloting a PV-1 Ventura Bomber and noticed the men of
USS Indianapolis in the water. He alerted a PBY, under the
command of Lieutenant Adrian Marks of the disaster. Marks then
alerted the destroyer USS Cecil Doyle (DD-368) before heading
to the scene himself to assist the survivors until the
destroyer could get there. The rescue mission continued well
into the morning of August 3, 1945.
(5) Only 319 men survived the temperature extremes,
starvation, terrible thirst, and constant shark attacks while
in the water between July 30, 1945, and August 3, 1945.
(6) During World War II, the USS Indianapolis and the crew
served as the Flagship for the Fifth Fleet commander Admiral
Raymond Spruance, survived a kamikaze attack, earned a total of
10 battle stars, and took on an incredibly risky mission that
was critical to ending the war. Their sacrifice, perseverance,
and bravery 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 the Congress, of a single gold
medal of appropriate design to the crew of the USS Indianapolis, in
recognition of their perseverance, their bravery, and their service to
the Nation.
(b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes of the award referred to
in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act
referred to 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, IN, 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.
Medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals for purposes
of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
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