Ritchie Boys Congressional Gold Medal Act
This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to commemorate the Ritchie Boys (men who trained at Camp Ritchie, a War Department military intelligence training center) in recognition of their contributions to the success of the Allied Forces during World War II.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9274 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9274
To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the Ritchie Boys, in recognition
of their bravery and dedication and the importance of their
contributions to the success of the Allied Forces during World War II.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 3, 2022
Mr. Trone introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on
House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the Ritchie Boys, in recognition
of their bravery and dedication and the importance of their
contributions to the success of the Allied Forces 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 ``Ritchie Boys Congressional Gold
Medal Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) In 1942, the Federal Government ordered that a Maryland
National Guard Training Ground be turned into a War Department
Military Intelligence Training Center, which was named Camp
Ritchie after the late Governor, Albert C. Ritchie.
(2) Starting in 1942, more than 19,000 men trained at Camp
Ritchie in Maryland and became known as the Ritchie Boys.
(3) While the approximately 2,800 refugees who had fled
Nazi persecution in Germany and Austria and had come to the
United States as ``enemy aliens'' prior to the entry of the
United States into World War II only constituted approximately
14 percent of the total number of Ritchie Boys, they had the
strongest motivation to return to Europe and fight for their
newly adopted country.
(4) The Ritchie Boys included--
(A) soldiers of many faiths (including Protestant,
Jewish, and Catholic soldiers);
(B) both soldiers born in the United States and
foreign-born soldiers from more than 70 countries;
(C) soldiers with German, Japanese (Nisei), and
other language skills; and
(D) more importantly, soldiers with general
intelligence skills suitable for being trained as
order-of-battle specialists, counterintelligence
operatives, photo interpreters, psychological warfare
experts, and other specialists.
(5) During World War II, Ritchie Boys were assigned to
every unit of the Army and the Marines as well as to the Office
of Strategic Services and the Counter Intelligence Corps.
(6) Starting in 1942, the Ritchie Boys were sent as
individual specialists to the Supreme Headquarters Allied
Expeditionary Force (``SHAEF'') in small elite teams to join
combat units in the North African, Mediterranean, European, and
Pacific theaters and to military camps, prisoner-of-war camps,
and interrogation centers (such as Fort Hunt, Virginia) in the
United States.
(7) The Ritchie Boys accompanied the Army on D-Day in
Europe as foot soldiers with all Army divisions and as
paratroopers with all airborne divisions and were often
selected to be the second soldier to land after the commander
in order to provide needed immediate interpretation in
languages such as French, German, and Italian.
(8) The Ritchie Boys served as personal interpreters for
General George Patton and other military leaders.
(9) The Ritchie Boys served honorably in the Pacific in the
assaults on Guadalcanal, Okinawa, Iwo Jima, and the
Philippines, including 2 Marine Corps Ritchie Boys who died in
the initial landing on Iwo Jima and a Ritchie Boy who was
awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for bravery.
(10) Approximately 140 Ritchie Boys lost their lives during
World War II.
(11) The Ritchie Boys garnered more than 65 Silver Star
Medals and numerous Bronze Star Medals as well as at least 5
Legion of Honor and many Croix de Guerre Medals.
(12) Among the 150-man Second Mobile Radio Broadcast
Company of the Ritchie Boys, 6 members received the Croix de
Guerre Medal and at least 15 received Bronze Star Medals for
service and bravery.
(13) The Ritchie Boys made significant contributions to the
success of the Allied Forces on the Western Front through their
knowledge and their skills, as demonstrated by a classified
postwar report by the Army finding that the Ritchie Boys were
the source of nearly 60 percent of the credible intelligence
gathered in Europe during World War II.
(14) Many of the Ritchie Boys continued to serve their
country following the conclusion of World War II, including
through service as translators or interrogators prosecuting war
criminals with the Judge Advocate General's Office during
trials at Dachau and Nuremberg.
(15) The Ritchie Boys include such notable figures as David
Rockefeller, Archibald Roosevelt Jr., William Sloane Coffin,
Philip Johnson, J.D. Salinger, and William Warfield, as well as
Senators John Chafee of Rhode Island and Frank Church of Idaho,
and the father of the current senior Senator from Oregon, Ron
Wyden.
(16) The Ritchie Boys also contributed outside of the
military through careers as writers, artists, architects,
academics, diplomats, economists, financiers, philanthropists,
and psychologists.
(17) Because the roles of the Ritchie Boys remained
classified for decades, the public generally lacks awareness of
their contributions.
(18) Camp Ritchie closed in 1998, and a museum and
educational center is now being planned for the location.
(19) Approximately 200 Ritchie Boys are still living,
ranging in age between 95 and 107.
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
(a) Presentation Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of
Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make
appropriate arrangements for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of
Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemoration of the
Ritchie Boys, in recognition of their bravery and dedication and the
importance of their contributions to the success of the Allied Forces
during World War II.
(b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes of the presentation
referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter
in this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall strike a gold medal
with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by
the Secretary.
(c) Smithsonian Institution.--
(1) In general.--Following the award of the gold medal
under subsection (a), 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 appropriate locations associated with the
Ritchie Boys.
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold
medal struck pursuant to section 3, at a price sufficient to cover the
cost thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and
overhead expenses.
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.
(a) National Medals.--The medals struck pursuant to this Act are
national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States
Code.
(b) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of section 5134 of title 31,
United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be
considered to be numismatic items.
SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.
(a) Authority To Use Fund Amounts.--There is authorized to be
charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund such
amounts as may be necessary to pay for the costs of the medals struck
under this Act.
(b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of duplicate
bronze medals authorized under section 4 shall be deposited into the
United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
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