[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1252 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1252
To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Doris Miller, in
recognition of his acts of valor while a member of the United States
Navy during World War II.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 28, 2023
Mr. Mfume (for himself, Mr. Cardenas, Ms. Norton, Mr. Carson, Mr.
Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Ms. Velazquez, Ms. Titus,
Ms. Blunt Rochester, and Mr. Connolly) 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 posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Doris Miller, in
recognition of his acts of valor while a member of the United States
Navy 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 ``Doris Miller Congressional Gold
Medal Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Doris Miller, like other African-American sailors of
his day, was generally relegated to service-based roles on
ships, as the Navy did not allow sailors of color to enlist in
combat roles.
(2) On December 7, 1941, Doris Miller was serving aboard
the USS West Virginia in Hawaii when Japanese torpedo bombers
attacked his ship and others at the Pearl Harbor Naval Base--
headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. During this infamous
attack, Doris Miller manned a gun magazine amidships. When a
torpedo damaged the magazine, Doris Miller helped carry the
wounded to safety, including his ship's commander, Captain
Mervyn S. Bennion. Doris Miller then manned a .50 caliber
antiaircraft gun, for which he had no training, and continued
firing on the enemy until he ran out of ammunition and received
the order to abandon ship.
(3) Doris Miller was acknowledged in the USS West Virginia
Action Report, individually, along with other brave personnel
for having ``carried out every order promptly and
enthusiastically, even when it meant danger to themselves. They
did not attempt to abandon the bridge until ordered to do
so.''.
(4) Doris Miller aided other service members and ``was
instrumental in hauling people along through oil and water to
the quarterdeck, thereby unquestionably saving the lives of a
number of people who might otherwise have been lost.''.
(5) On December 15, 1941, the Navy released its
commendations for actions in Pearl Harbor which included one
``unnamed Negro''. It wasn't until March of 1942, at the behest
of the NAACP, that the Navy formally recognized Miller's
heroism.
(6) Doris Miller was recognized by the Navy and awarded the
Navy Cross Medal with the citation reading ``For distinguished
devotion to duty, extraordinary courage and disregard for his
own personal safety during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl
Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, by Japanese forces on December 7,
1941. While at the side of his Captain on the bridge, Miller,
despite enemy strafing and bombing and in the face of a serious
fire, assisted in moving his Captain, who had been mortally
wounded, to a place of greater safety, and later manned and
operated a machine gun directed at enemy Japanese attacking
aircraft until ordered to leave the bridge.''.
(7) On May 27, 1942, Admiral Chester Nimitz personally
pinned the Navy Cross to Miller's left breast pocket while on
board the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise.
(8) Doris Miller died in action on November 24, 1943, on
board the USS Liscome Bay in the Pacific Ocean after a single
Japanese torpedo sank the vessel off the coast of Butaritari
Island.
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
Doris Miller, in recognition of his acts of valor while a member of the
Navy 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 shall make the gold medal received
under paragraph (1) available for display elsewhere,
particularly at other appropriate locations associated with
Doris Miller.
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.
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