,i #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #baib ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,april #i1 #bjai ,ms4 ,torres ,small of ,new ,mexico 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,lujn1 and ,ms4 ,haaland7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,financial ,services1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,house ,administration1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to grant the ,congressional ,gold ,medal to the troops from the ,united ,states and the ,philippines who defended ,bataan and ,corregidor1 in recognition of their personal sacrifice and service during ,world ,war ,,ii4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,defenders of ,bataan and ,corregidor ,congressional ,gold ,medal ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,hours after the attacks on ,pearl ,harbor1 ,hawaii1 ,imperial ,japanese forces launched an attack on the ,philippines1 cutting off vital lines of communication to members of the ,armed ,forces of the ,united ,states 7referred to in this ,act as the ,armed ,forces7 and ,filipino troops in the ,far ,east under the command of ,general ,douglas ,mac,arthur4 7#b7 ,on ,december #h1 #aida1 the #bjjth and #eaeth ,coast ,artillery ,regiments1 successors to the ,new ,mexico ,national ,guardsmen who made up part of the famed ,rough ,riders of the ,spanish-,american ,war1 were the first to fire4 7#c7 ,despite being cut off from supply lines and reinforcements1 members of the ,armed ,forces and ,philippine troops quickly executed a plan to delay the ,japanese invasion and defend the ,philippines against that invasion4 7#d7 ,combined ,u4,s4-,filipino ground forces fight a prolonged six-month resistance to ,imperial ,japan's invasion of the ,philippines4 ,with the ,u4,s4 unable to deliver reinforcements1 the ,u4,s4-,filipino forces slowly deteriorate in combat effectiveness through lack of food1 supplies1 ammunition1 and disease as well as from no air and naval support4 7#e7 ,by ,december #aj1 #aida1 the ,u4,s4 ,army ,air ,corps airfields at ,del ,carmen1 ,clark1 ,nichols1 and ,nielson on ,luzon in the ,philippines1 as well as the nearby ,u4,s4 ,naval facilities at ,cavite and ,olongapo had been destroyed4 ,the surviving sailors1 ,marines1 and airmen were organized into provisional infantry units and sent to fight on the ,bataan ,peninsula4 7#f7 ,by ,april #aidb1 troops from the ,united ,states and the ,philippines had bravely and staunchly fought off enemy attacks in ,bataan for more than #d months under strenuous conditions that resulted in widespread starvation and disease4 7#g7 ,securing the withdrawal of ,united ,states forces on ,luzon to the ,bataan ,peninsula were-- 7,a7 #a1hji ,new ,mexico ,national ,guardsmen from #bjjth and #eaeth ,coast ,artillery 7,antiaircraft7 regiments4 ,first stationed at ,fort ,stotsenberg north of ,manila1 they are credited as being the ,first to ,fire in the defense of the ,philippines on ,december #h1 #aida2 7,b7 #a1jjf ,national ,guardsmen of the #aibnd ,,ghq ,light ,tank ,battalion 7#eif7 composed of ,company ,a from ,janesville1 ,wisconsin2 ,company ,b from ,maywood1 ,illinois2 ,company ,c from ,port ,clinton1 ,ohio2 and ,company ,d from ,harrodsburg1 ,kentucky2 and the #aidth ,light ,tank ,battalion 7#daj7 composed of ,company ,a from ,brainerd1 ,minnesota2 ,company ,b from ,saint ,joseph1 ,missouri2 and ,company ,c from ,salinas1 ,california4 ,the #aibnd and #aidth ,tank ,battalions had arrived in the ,philippines on or before ,thanksgiving ,day #aida2 and 7,c7 barely half of the men from these ,national ,guard units returned home at the end of the war1 with the majority dying as ,p,o,ws of the ,imperial ,japanese ,army4 7#h7 ,by maintaining their position and engaging the enemy for as long as they did1 the troops at ,bataan were able to change the momentum of the war1 delaying the ,japanese timetable to take control of the ,southeast ,pacific for needed war materials4 ,because of the heroic actions of the defenders of ,bataan1 members of the ,armed ,forces and other ,allied forces throughout the ,pacific had time to regroup and prepare for the successful liberation of the ,pacific and the ,philippines4 7#i7 ,on ,april #i1 #aidb1 approximately #ab1jjj ,united ,states military personnel and #ff1jjj ,filipino soldiers became ,p,o,ws with the surrender of the ,american-,filipino forces on the ,bataan ,peninsula in the ,philippines by ,major ,general ,edward ,p4 ,king4 7#aj7 ,beginning on ,april #i and lasting for almost two weeks1 troops from the ,armed ,forces and the ,philippines were taken prisoner and forced to march #fe miles without any food1 water1 or medical care in what came to be known as the ,bataan ,death ,march4 ,they marched from ,marviveles north to the ,san ,fernando train station4 ,at ,san ,fernando1 the men were packed standing in unventilated boxcars for #bd-mile journey by rail to ,capas4 ,survivors then marched an additional three miles to the make-shift ,,pow camp at ,camp ,o',donnell1 an unfinished ,philippine ,army training facility4 7#aa7 ,during this forced march1 an estimated #gjj ,american and possibly #aj1jjj thousand ,filipino soldiers died from starvation1 lack of medical care1 sheer exhaustion1 or abuse by their captors4 ,hundreds of men on the ,death ,march remain unaccounted for from the march and its immediate aftermath4 7#ab7 ,conditions at the prisoner of war camps were appalling1 leading to increased disease and malnutrition1 which precipitated extraordinary death rates of as high as #cjj per day4 7#ac7 ,thousands of troops fought under siege conditions on ,corregidor 7,fort ,mills71 a fortress island in ,manila ,bay1 the headquarters of the wartime ,u4,s4 ,army ,forces in the ,far ,east1 and the nearby fortified islands of ,fort ,hughes1 ,fort ,drum1 and ,fort ,frank until ,may #f1 #aidb4 7#ad7 ,on ,may #f1 #aidb1 ,corregidor1 which had become the military command center for all the ,philippines1 ,united ,states ,forces in the ,philippines 7,,usfip71 was surrendered by ,lt4 ,general ,jonathan ,m4 ,wainwright4 ,nearly #aj1jjj ,american soldiers1 sailors1 airmen1 and ,marines as well as over #c1jjj ,filipino soldiers and nurses become ,p,o,ws of ,imperial ,japan4 7#ae7 ,on ,june #f1 #aidb1 the prisoners at ,camp ,o',donnell were transferred to ,camp ,cabanatuan1 north of ,camp ,o',donnell4 7#af7 ,nearly #bf1jjj of the #ej1jjj ,filipino prisoners of war died at ,camp ,o',donnell and survivors were gradually paroled from ,september through ,december #aidb4 7#ag7 ,between ,september of #aidb and ,december of #aidd1 prisoners of war from the ,armed ,forces who had survived the horrific death march were shipped north for forced labor aboard hell ships and succumbed in great numbers because of the abysmal conditions4 ,many of those ships were mistakenly targeted by ,allied naval forces because the ,japanese military convoys were not properly labeled as carrying prisoners of war4 ,the sinking of the ,arisan ,maru alone claimed nearly #a1hjj lives of members of the ,armed ,forces4 7#ah7 ,the prisoners who remained in the camps suffered from continued mistreatment1 malnutrition1 lack of medical care1 and horrific conditions until they were liberated in #aide4 7#ai7 ,the veterans of ,bataan and ,corregidor represented the best of the ,united ,states and the ,philippines1 hailed from various locales across both countries1 and represented true diversity4 7#bj7 ,over the subsequent decades1 the veterans of ,bataan and ,corregidor formed support groups1 were honored in local and ,state memorials1 and told their stories to all people of the ,united ,states4 7#ba7 ,the ,united ,states ,navy has continued to honor the history and stories of the veterans of ,bataan by naming #b ships after the battle1 including #a ship that is still in service1 the ,,uss ,bataan 7,,lhd-#e71 in memory of their valor and honorable resistance against ,imperial ,japanese forces4 7#bb7 ,many of the survivors of ,bataan and ,corregidor have died and those who remain continue to tell their stories4 7#bc7 ,the people of the ,united ,states and the ,philippines are forever indebted to these men for-- 7,a7 the courage and tenacity they demonstrated during the first #d months of ,world ,war ,,ii fighting against enemy soldiers2 and 7,b7 the perseverance they demonstrated during #c years of capture1 imprisonment1 and atrocious conditions1 while maintaining dignity1 honor1 patriotism1 and loyalty4 #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 collective award1 on behalf of ,congress1 of a gold medal of appropriate design to the troops from the ,united ,states and the ,philippines who defended ,bataan and ,corregidor1 in recognition of their personal sacrifice and service during ,world ,war ,,ii4 7b7 ,design and striking ,for purposes of the award under subsection 7a71 the ,secretary of the ,treasury 7referred to in this ,act as the ,secretary7 shall strike the 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 under subsection 7a71 the gold medal shall be given to the ,smithsonian ,institution1 where it shall 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 paragraph 7#a7 available for display elsewhere1 particularly at other appropriate locations that are associated with the troops from the ,united ,states and the ,philippines who defended ,bataan and ,corregidor4 #d4 ,duplicate medals ,the ,secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section #c under such regulations as the ,secretary may prescribe1 at a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof1 including labor1 materials1 dies1 use of machinery1 and overhead expenses1 and the cost of the gold medal4 #e4 ,status of medals 7a7 ,national medals ,the medals struck pursuant to this ,act are national medals for purposes of chapter #ea of title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code4 7b7 ,numismatic items ,for purposes of section #eacd of title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code1 all medals struck under this ,act shall be considered to be numismatic items4