,,ii  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #baad  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,november #i1  
#bjag,mr4 ,isakson 7for himself1 ,mr4   
,markey1 ,mr4 ,daines1 ,mr4 ,franken1   
,mr4 ,inhofe1 ,mrs4 ,shaheen1 ,mrs4     
,ernst1 ,mr4 ,kennedy1 and ,mr4 ,rounds7
 introduced the following bill2 which   
was read twice and referred to the      
,committee on ,banking1 ,housing1 and   
,urban ,affairs  ,a ,,bill  ,to award a 
,congressional ,gold ,medal to the      
#ecjgth ,composite ,unit 7,provisional71
 commonly known as ,merrill's           
,marauders1 in recognition of their     
bravery and outstanding service in the  
jungles of ,burma during ,world ,war    
,,ii4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may  
be cited as the ,merrill's ,marauders   
,congressional ,gold ,medal ,act4  #b4  
,findings ,congress finds that--  7#a7  
in ,august #aidc ,president ,franklin   
,d4 ,roosevelt and other ,allied leaders
 proposed the creation of an ,american  
ground unit that would engage in a      

long-range penetration mission in       
,japanese-occupied ,burma to cut off    
,japanese communications and supply     
lines and capture ,japanese-held        
airfield and town of ,myitkyina2  7#b7  
,president ,roosevelt issued a call for 
volunteers for a dangerous and hazardous
 mission1 and the call was answered by  
approximately #c1jjj ,american soldiers2
  7#c7 the unit composed of the soldiers
 was officially designated as the       
#ecjgth ,composite ,unit 7,provisional7 
,code ,name3 ,galahad and later becoming
 known as ,merrill's ,marauders named   
after its leader1 ,brigadier ,general   
,frank ,merrill2  7#d7 in ,february     
#aidd1 the ,marauders began their       
approximately #a1jjj-mile trek through  
the dense ,burmese jungle with no       
artillery support and carried their     
supplies on their backs or the pack     
saddles of mules2  7#e7 over the course 
of their #e-month trek to ,myitkyina1   
the ,marauders fought victoriously      
against larger ,japanese forces through 

#e major and #cj minor engagements2     
7#f7 during their march to ,myitkyina   
the ,marauders faced hunger and disease 
that were exacerbated by inadequate     
aerial resupply drops2  7#g7 malaria1   
typhus1 and dysentery inflicted more    
casualties on the ,marauders than the   
,japanese2  7#h7 by ,august #aidd the   
,marauders accomplished their mission1  
successfully disrupting ,japanese supply
 and communication lines1 taking the    
town of ,myitkyina and the ,myitkyina   
airstrip1 the only all-weather airstrip 
in ,northern ,burma2  7#i7 after taking 
,myitkyina1 only #acj ,marauders out of 
the original #b1gej were fit for duty   
and all remaining ,marauders still in   
action were evacuated to hospitals due  
to tropical diseases1 exhaustion1 and   
malnutrition2  7#aj7 for their bravery  
and accomplishments the ,marauders were 
awarded the ,distinguished ,unit        
,citation1 later redesignated as the    
,presidential ,unit ,citation1 and a    
,bronze ,star for their service2 and    

7#aa7 though ,merrill's ,marauders were 
operational for only a few months1 the  
legacy of their bravery is honored by   
the ,united ,states ,army through the   
modern day #geth ,ranger ,regiment1     
which traces its lineage directly to the
 #ecjgth ,composite ,unit4  #c4         
,congressional ,gold ,medal  7a7 ,award 
authorized ,the ,speaker of the ,house  
of ,representatives and the ,president  
pro tempore of the ,senate shall make   
appropriate arrangements for the award1 
on behalf of the ,congress1 of a single 
gold medal of appropriate design to the 
#ecjgth ,composite ,unit 7,provisional71
 commonly known as ,merrill's           
,marauders1 in recognition of their     
bravery and outstanding service in the  
jungles of ,burma during ,world ,war    
,,ii4  7b7 ,design and striking ,for the
 purposes of the award referred to in   
subsection 7a71 the ,secretary of the   
,treasury 7referred to in this ,act as  
the ,secretary7 shall strike a gold     
medal with suitable emblems1 devices1   

and inscriptions1 to be determined by   
the ,secretary4  7c7 ,smithsonian       
,institution  7#a7 ,in general          
,following the award of the gold medal  
referred to in subsection 7a7 in honor  
of the #ecjgth ,composite ,unit         
7,provisional71 who became known as     
,merrill's ,marauders1 the gold medal   
shall be given to the ,smithsonian      
,institution1 where it will be displayed
 as appropriate and made available for  
research4  7#b7 ,sense of ,congress ,it 
is the sense of ,congress that the      
,smithsonian ,institution should make   
the gold medal received under this ,act 
available for display elsewhere1        
particularly at other locations and     
events associated with ,merrill's       
,marauders4  #d4 ,duplicate medals      
,under such regulations as the          
,secretary may prescribe1 the ,secretary
 may strike and sell duplicates in      
bronze of the gold medal struck under   
section #c1 at a price sufficient to    
cover the costs of the medals1 including

 labor1 materials1 dies1 use of         
machinery1 and overhead expenses4  #e4  
,status of medals ,medals struck        
pursuant to this ,act are national      
medals for purposes of chapter #ea of   
title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code4