What This Bill Does
This bill orders Congress to give Doris Miller a Congressional Gold Medal (a special honor from the government) after his death. The medal recognizes Miller's brave actions while serving in the Navy during World War II. Miller was an African-American sailor who fought during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
Who It Affects
The Secretary of the Treasury makes and designs the medal. The Smithsonian Institution receives and displays the medal. The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate (the second-highest leader in the Senate) present the medal.
Key Provisions
• The Speaker of the House and President pro tempore of the Senate must arrange to give Doris Miller a gold medal after his death to honor his brave actions in World War II (Sec. 3(a))
• The Secretary of the Treasury must create a gold medal with designs, symbols and words that the Secretary decides on (Sec. 3(b))
• After the medal is awarded, the Smithsonian Institution gets it to display and use for research, and should try to display it at other places connected to Doris Miller (Sec. 3(c))
• The Secretary of the Treasury can make and sell bronze copies of the gold medal for a price that covers the costs of making them (Sec. 4)
What Changes
If this bill becomes law, Doris Miller receives official recognition through a gold medal for his acts of valor during the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941. The medal goes to the Smithsonian Institution for public display and research.
Important Definitions
None defined in bill text.
I
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. CA´RDENAS, Ms. NORTON, Mr. CARSON, Mr.
JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, 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 con-
cerned
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 Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Doris Miller Congres-
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sional Gold Medal Act’’.
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•HR 1252 IH
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
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Congress finds the following:
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(1) Doris Miller, like other African-American
3
sailors of his day, was generally relegated to service-
4
based roles on ships, as the Navy did not allow sail-
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ors of color to enlist in combat roles.
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(2) On December 7, 1941, Doris Miller was
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serving aboard the USS West Virginia in Hawaii
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when Japanese torpedo bombers attacked his ship
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and others at the Pearl Harbor Naval Base—head-
10
quarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. During this infa-
11
mous attack, Doris Miller manned a gun magazine
12
amidships. When a torpedo damaged the magazine,
13
Doris Miller helped carry the wounded to safety, in-
14
cluding his ship’s commander, Captain Mervyn S.
15
Bennion. Doris Miller then manned a .50 caliber
16
antiaircraft gun, for which he had no training, and
17
continued firing on the enemy until he ran out of
18
ammunition and received the order to abandon ship.
19
(3) Doris Miller was acknowledged in the USS
20
West Virginia Action Report, individually, along
21
with other brave personnel for having ‘‘carried out
22
every order promptly and enthusiastically, even when
23
it meant danger to themselves. They did not attempt
24
to abandon the bridge until ordered to do so.’’.
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•HR 1252 IH
(4) Doris Miller aided other service members
1
and ‘‘was instrumental in hauling people along
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through oil and water to the quarterdeck, thereby
3
unquestionably saving the lives of a number of peo-
4
ple who might otherwise have been lost.’’.
5
(5) On December 15, 1941, the Navy released
6
its commendations for actions in Pearl Harbor
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which included one ‘‘unnamed Negro’’. It wasn’t
8
until March of 1942, at the behest of the NAACP,
9
that the Navy formally recognized Miller’s heroism.
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(6) Doris Miller was recognized by the Navy
11
and awarded the Navy Cross Medal with the citation
12
reading ‘‘For distinguished devotion to duty, ex-
13
traordinary courage and disregard for his own per-
14
sonal safety during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl
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Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, by Japanese forces on
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December 7, 1941. While at the side of his Captain
17
on the bridge, Miller, despite enemy strafing and
18
bombing and in the face of a serious fire, assisted
19
in moving his Captain, who had been mortally
20
wounded, to a place of greater safety, and later
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manned and operated a machine gun directed at
22
enemy Japanese attacking aircraft until ordered to
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leave the bridge.’’.
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•HR 1252 IH
(7) On May 27, 1942, Admiral Chester Nimitz
1
personally pinned the Navy Cross to Miller’s left
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breast pocket while on board the aircraft carrier
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USS Enterprise.
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(8) Doris Miller died in action on November 24,
5
1943, on board the USS Liscome Bay in the Pacific
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Ocean after a single Japanese torpedo sank the ves-
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sel off the coast of Butaritari Island.
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SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
9
(a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of
10
the House of Representatives and the President pro tem-
11
pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements
12
for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of Congress,
13
of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemoration
14
of Doris Miller, in recognition of his acts of valor while
15
a member of the Navy during World War II.
16
(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purposes of the
17
presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary
18
of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the
19
‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable em-
20
blems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the
21
Secretary.
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(c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.—
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the
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gold medal under subsection (a), the gold medal
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•HR 1252 IH
shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where
1
it shall be available for display as appropriate and
2
made available for research.
3
(2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of
4
Congress that the Smithsonian Institution shall
5
make the gold medal received under paragraph (1)
6
available for display elsewhere, particularly at other
7
appropriate locations associated with Doris Miller.
8
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
9
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in
10
bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3, at
11
a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor,
12
materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses.
13
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.
14
(a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu-
15
ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter
16
51 of title 31, United States Code.
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(b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section
18
5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck
19
under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items.
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Æ
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