[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 611 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 611
To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Colonel Young Oak
Kim in recognition of his extraordinary heroism, leadership, and
humanitarianism.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 27, 2023
Ms. Strickland (for herself, Mr. Kim of New Jersey, Mrs. Kim of
California, and Mrs. Steel) 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 Colonel Young Oak
Kim in recognition of his extraordinary heroism, leadership, and
humanitarianism.
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 ``Colonel Young Oak Kim Congressional
Gold Medal Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Young Oak Kim was born in Los Angeles in 1919 to Korean
American immigrants, where his family faced numerous
challenges. After high school, Kim enrolled in Los Angeles City
College, but dropped out after a year to find work to help
support his family.
(2) Because of racial discrimination, Kim struggled to keep
employed. With the outbreak of World War II (WWII), Kim tried
to enlist in the United States Army, but that opportunity was
closed off to him, too, as an Asian American. However, after
Congress extended conscription to Asian Americans, Kim was
drafted into the Army, entering the service on January 31,
1941.
(3) From the earliest days of Kim's service in the United
States Army, he distinguished himself as a leader, being
selected for the Infantry Officer Candidate School at Fort
Benning, Georgia. Upon his commission as a second lieutenant in
1943, Kim was assigned to the all-Japanese American 100th
Infantry Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team.
(4) Young Oak Kim was assigned as an officer of the 100th
Infantry Battalion that was formed on June 5, 1942, comprised
of predominantly second-generation Americans of Japanese
ancestry from the Hawaiian Islands.
(5) When Kim reported to duty, his commanding officer gave
Kim the option to transfer due to the historical conflicts
between the Japanese and Koreans, but Kim stated, ``Sir,
they're Americans and I am an American. And we're going to
fight for America.''.
(6) The 100th Infantry Battalion was deployed to the
Mediterranean and entered combat in Italy on September 26,
1943. The 100th Battalion fought at Cassino, Italy, in January
1944, and later accompanied the 34th Infantry Division to
Anzio, Italy.
(7) Kim's most notable feat occurred at the Battle of
Anzio. During broad daylight he volunteered to capture German
soldiers for intelligence information. He and another soldier
crawled more than 600 yards located directly under German
observation posts with no cover. They captured two prisoners
and obtained information that significantly contributed to the
fall of Rome. For his actions, Kim received the Distinguished
Service Cross from the United States and the Military Valor
Cross, the highest military decoration in Italy.
(8) The 100th Infantry Battalion was formally made an
integral part of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team on June 15,
1944, and fought for the last 11 months of the war with
distinction in Italy, southern France, and Germany. The 442nd
Regimental Team became the most decorated unit in United States
military history for its size and length of service. The 100th
Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, received 7
Presidential Unit Citations, 21 Medals of Honor, 29
Distinguished Service Crosses, 560 Silver Stars, 4,000 Bronze
Stars, 22 Legion of Merit Medals, 15 Soldier's Medals, and over
4,000 Purple Hearts, among numerous additional distinctions.
(9) When the Korean war broke out in 1950, Kim rejoined the
United States Army and participated in the United Nations
Forces' last drive into Korea. As commander of the First
Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, he became the first officer
of color in United States history to command an Army battalion
on the battlefield.
(10) In Seoul, he led his battalion in sponsoring an
orphanage of more than 500 children. The battalion was the only
United Nations military unit to sponsor an orphanage during the
war.
(11) In 1972, Kim retired from the Army at the rank of
Colonel. By the end of his career, Kim had earned the
Distinguished Service Cross, two Silver Stars, two Bronze
Stars, three Purple Hearts, two Legions of Merit, and several
military commendations from foreign governments--Italy's Bronze
Medal of Military Valor and Military Valor Cross, France's La
Legion D'Honneur, and the Republic of Korea's Taeguk Order of
Military Merit.
(12) Kim returned to his native Los Angeles and became a
civic leader. In 1975, he established the Koreatown Youth and
Community Center in Los Angeles to support recently immigrated
Korean youth who were struggling with poverty and language
barriers, which today serves a broad multi-ethnic population of
11,000 people in the greater Los Angeles area.
(13) In 1978, Kim helped establish the Center for the
Pacific Asian Family (CPAF), an organization providing
culturally and linguistically appropriate domestic violence and
sexual assault services to the pan-Asian immigrant community.
Under his leadership as CPAF's chairman, the organization
became the largest women's shelter in Southern California in
the 1990s.
(14) In 1986, Kim founded the Korean Health, Education,
Information and Research Center (KHEIR), a nonprofit service
agency providing culturally and linguistically sensitive health
care and human services to the uninsured and underserved
residents of Los Angeles. Today KHEIR operates two clinics that
can accommodate more than 75,000 patient visits annually and is
the only federally qualified health center in the United States
that serves a majority Korean patient base, with all services
available in English, Korean, and Spanish.
(15) In 1985, Kim co-founded the Japanese American National
Museum (JANM), which promotes understanding and appreciation of
America's ethnic and cultural diversity by sharing the Japanese
American experience.
(16) In 1989, Kim founded and served as the Chairman of the
100th/442nd/MIS WWII Memorial Foundation, which is now known as
the Go for Broke National Education Center. Kim led a campaign
with veterans of the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd RCT and
Military Intelligence Service to build the Go for Broke
Monument, in downtown Los Angeles, which serves as a tribute to
the Japanese American soldiers of World War II.
(17) Kim's contributions in the 1980s and 1990s also
included founding the Korean American Museum and the Korean
American Coalition, both entities dedicated to understanding
the Korean American experience and addressing its issues and
needs.
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
the Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design, in commemoration
of Colonel Young Oak Kim, in recognition of his achievements and
contributions to heroism, leadership, and humanitarianism.
(b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes of the presentation
referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (referred
to in this Act 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--
(A) display, particularly at the National Portrait
Gallery; or
(B) loan, as appropriate, so that the medal may be
displayed elsewhere.
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold
medal struck pursuant to section 3 under such regulations as the
Secretary may prescribe, 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 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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