WWII Nurses Congressional Gold Medal Act

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1558 To award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the brave women who served in World War II as members of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps and U.S. Navy Nurse Corps. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 11, 2023 Ms. BALDWIN (for herself, Mr. DAINES, Ms. WARREN, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mrs. BLACKBURN, and Mr. BRAUN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the brave women who served in World War II as members of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps and U.S. Navy Nurse Corps. 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 ‘‘WWII Nurses Con- 4 gressional Gold Medal Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 The Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1558.IS S1558 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1558 IS (1) On December 8, 1941, the United States 1 declared war against the Empire of Japan, followed 2 by declarations of war against Germany and Italy on 3 December 11, 1941. In 1935, there were fewer than 4 600 United States Army nurses and 1,700 United 5 States Navy nurses on active duty. By the time 6 World War II ended, more than 59,000 Army nurses 7 and 14,000 Navy nurses had volunteered to serve. 8 (2) The Act of June 4, 1920 (41 Stat. 759; 9 chapter 227), granted women in the Nurse Corps 10 ‘‘relative rank.’’ This gave them the right to wear 11 the military insignia, but did not confer military sta- 12 tus or privileges. This arrangement meant women 13 serving throughout World War II received 50 per- 14 cent of the pay as compared to their male counter- 15 parts, and none of the veteran benefits. Because 16 they did not receive military status, they received no 17 orientation or training before being deployed to hos- 18 pitals near the front lines. 19 (3) Nurses served under fire in field hospitals 20 and evacuation hospitals across 6 continents, on hos- 21 pital trains and ships, and as flight nurses on med- 22 ical transport planes. Several nurses were killed in 23 action when their ships were torpedoed or field hos- 24 pitals were bombed. Some even entered into combat 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1558.IS S1558 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1558 IS areas as flight nurses to retrieve the wounded, and 1 2 groups were captured as prisoners of war by the 2 Japanese. 3 (4) General Douglas MacArthur ordered Army 4 nurses to the Bataan Peninsula to prepare 2 emer- 5 gency hospitals for United States and Filipino 6 forces. General Hospital 1 received casualties di- 7 rectly from the front lines, and more than 1,200 bat- 8 tle casualties requiring major surgery were admitted 9 within a month. General Hospital 2 accepted pa- 10 tients strong enough for evacuation, as it was out in 11 the open, with no tents or buildings, and only tree 12 canopy to conceal them from Japanese aircraft. Hos- 13 pital 1 was bombed on March 29, 1942, killing or 14 wounding more than 100 patients, but the nurses 15 carried on with their duties as well as they were 16 able. Following the United States Army surrender of 17 the Philippines to the Japanese on May 6, 1942, 67 18 Army nurses were taken to Santo Tomas Internment 19 Camp in Manila, where they remained until Feb- 20 ruary 1945. During the 37 months in captivity, 21 these women endured primitive conditions and star- 22 vation rations, but continued to care for the ill and 23 injured in the internment camp hospital. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1558.IS S1558 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1558 IS (5) Early in the morning of November 8, 1942, 1 60 nurses attached to the 48th Surgical Hospital 2 landed off the coast of North Africa. The nurses 3 wore helmets and carried full packs containing med- 4 ical equipment. Without weapons, they waded ashore 5 amid enemy sniper fire and ultimately took shelter 6 in an abandoned civilian hospital, where they began 7 caring for invasion casualties. There was no elec- 8 tricity or running water, and the only medical sup- 9 plies available were those the nurses had brought 10 themselves. 11 (6) In Anzio, Italy, nurses dug foxholes outside 12 their tents or under their cots and cared for patients 13 under German shellfire. The field hospital tents were 14 marked by large red crosses and were sometimes de- 15 liberately hit with artillery shells and bombs. On 16 February 7, 1944, a German pilot being pursued by 17 British fighter planes dropped 5 antipersonnel 18 bombs on the hospital, destroying 29 ward tents, 19 killing 26 and wounding 64. The dead included 3 20 nurses, 2 medical officers, a Red Cross worker, 14 21 enlisted men and 6 patients. Troops came to refer 22 to the hospital area as ‘‘Hell’s Half-Acre’’ because it 23 was hit so frequently by enemy fire. At least 200 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1558.IS S1558 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1558 IS nurses took part in the Anzio campaign, caring for 1 more than 33,000 patients behind enemy lines. 2 (7) Army and Navy nurses acclimated quickly 3 to difficult and dangerous conditions with a min- 4 imum of complaints, and were essential members of 5 the field armies. 6 (8) The presence of nurses at the front im- 7 proved morale because soldiers realized that they 8 would receive skilled care in the event they were 9 wounded. 10 (9) Thanks largely to the efforts of these 11 nurses, fewer than 4 percent of the American sol- 12 diers who received medical care in the field or under- 13 went evacuation died from wounds or disease. 14 (10) After the war, broad public health mis- 15 sions required that Army and Navy nurses supervise 16 communicable disease measures as former enemy 17 countries were reorganized. In Hiroshima, these offi- 18 cers cared for victims of the atomic bombs. In Mu- 19 nich, they prevented mass epidemic in refugee 20 camps. Army and Navy nurses even provided pre- 21 natal, infant, and mental health care in other 22 former-enemy territories. 23 (11) Nurses received 1,619 medals, citations, 24 and commendations during the war, reflecting the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1558.IS S1558 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 1558 IS courage and dedication of all who served. Sixteen 1 medals were awarded posthumously to nurses who 2 died as a result of enemy fire, including 6 nurses 3 who died at Anzio, 6 who died when the hospital 4 ship Comfort was attacked by a Japanese suicide 5 plane, and 4 flight nurses. Thirteen other flight 6 nurses died in weather-related crashes while on duty. 7 (12) In 1944, Congress passed a bill that 8 granted Army and Navy Nurses actual military rank 9 and benefits, approved for the duration of the war 10 plus 6 months. 11 (13) In 1947, Congress passed legislation estab- 12 lishing a permanent Army and Navy Nursing Corps 13 and gave members permanent officer status with 14 equal pay and the same benefits as those given to 15 male officers. 16 (14) In 1948, all military branches were inte- 17 grated and female doctors were finally admitted to 18 the Army Medical Corps. 19 (15) Although African-American nurses were 20 fully qualified and prepared to serve as nurses at the 21 onset of World War II, racial segregation and dis- 22 crimination made it difficult for Black women to join 23 the ranks of the Army Nurse Corps. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1558.IS S1558 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 1558 IS (16) As the Army Nurse Corps began expand- 1 ing its recruiting process, thousands of Black nurses 2 who wanted to serve their country filled out applica- 3 tions. 4 (17) While the Army did eventually integrate 5 African-American nurses in 1941, it did so 6 unwillingly and placed a quota on the number of Af- 7 rican-American nurses that they would accept, cap- 8 ping the number allowed to join at 56. 9 (18) Many of them had hardship tours and 10 were sent to segregated camps to take care of Afri- 11 can-American soldiers and would rotate and allow 12 White nurses reprieve in taking care of German pris- 13 oners of war. As the war progressed, the number of 14 Black nurses allowed to enlist remained low, al- 15 though the quota was officially lifted in July 1944. 16 (19) The extraordinary efforts of these women 17 are deserving of belated official recognition. 18 (20) The United States is eternally grateful to 19 the nurses of the Army and Navy Nurse Corps for 20 their bravery and dedication to their patients 21 through World War II, which saved lives and made 22 significant contributions to the defeat of the Axis 23 powers. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1558.IS S1558 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 1558 IS SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 1 (a) AWARD AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of the 2 House of Representatives and the President pro tempore 3 of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the 4 award, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal of appro- 5 priate design in honor of World War II Army and Navy 6 Nurse Corps members, in recognition of the critical mili- 7 tary service and devotion to duty of those nurses. 8 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the 9 award described in subsection (a), the Secretary of the 10 Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall 11 strike the gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and 12 inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary. 13 (c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the 15 gold medal under subsection (a), the gold medal 16 shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where 17 it shall be available for display as appropriate and 18 made available for research. 19 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 20 Congress that the Smithsonian Institution should 21 make the gold medal received under paragraph (1) 22 available for display elsewhere, particularly at— 23 (A) appropriate locations associated with 24 the Army and Navy Nurse Corps of World War 25 II, including— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1558.IS S1558 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 1558 IS (i) the U.S. Army Medical Center of 1 Excellence; 2 (ii) the Women in Military Service for 3 America Memorial; 4 (iii) the U.S. Army Women’s Museum; 5 (iv) the National Naval Medical Cen- 6 ters; and 7 (v) the National World War II Mu- 8 seum; and 9 (B) any other location determined appro- 10 priate by the Smithsonian Institution. 11 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 12 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 13 bronze of the gold medal struck under section 3, at a price 14 sufficient to cover the costs of the medals, including labor, 15 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 16 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 17 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—Medals struck pursuant to 18 this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 19 of title 31, United States Code. 20 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 21 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 22 struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 23 items. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1558.IS S1558 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 1558 IS SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 1 SALE. 2 (a) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.—There is 3 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 4 Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec- 5 essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck under 6 this Act. 7 (b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the 8 sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 9 4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 10 Enterprise Fund. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1558.IS S1558 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB