,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #cdfg  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,june #be1 #bjai,mr4 
,heck 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,cook1 ,ms4    
,haaland1 ,ms4 ,davids of ,kansas1 ,mr4 
,kildee1 and ,mr4 ,lujn7 introduced the 
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,armed ,services  ,a  
,,bill  ,to rescind each ,medal of      
,honor awarded for acts at ,wounded     
,knee ,creek on ,december #bi1 #ahij1   
and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short     
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,remove the ,stain ,act4  #b4 ,findings 
,congress finds as follows3  7#a7 ,the  
,medal of ,honor is the highest military
 award of the ,united ,states4  7#b7    
,congress found that to earn the ,medal 
of ,honor the deed of the person '''    
must be so outstanding that it clearly  
distinguishes his gallantry beyond the  
call of duty from lesser forms of       
bravery4  7#c7 ,the actions of ,medal of
 ,honor recipients inspire bravery in   
those currently serving in the ,armed   

,forces and those who will come to serve
 in the future4  7#d7 ,those listed on  
the ,medal of ,honor ,roll have come to 
exemplify the best traits of members of 
the ,armed ,forces1 a long and proud    
lineage of those who went beyond the    
call of service to the ,united ,states  
of ,america4  7#e7 ,to date the ,medal  
of ,honor has been awarded only #c1ebb  
times1 including only #ade times for the
 ,korean ,war1 #abf times in ,world ,war
 ,i1 #bc times during the ,global ,war  
on ,terror1 and #bj times for the       
massacre at ,wounded ,knee4  7#f7 ,the  
,medal of ,honor is awarded in the name 
of ,congress4  7#g7 ,as found in ,senate
 ,concurring ,resolution #aec of the    
#ajast ,congress1 on ,december #bi1     
#ahij the #gth ,cavalry of the ,united  
,states engaged a tribal community      
resulting in the tragic death and injury
 of approximately #cej-cge ,indian men1 
women1 and children led by ,lakota      
,chief ,spotted ,elk of the ,miniconjou 
band at ,cankpe' ,opi ,wakpa or ,wounded

 ,knee ,creek4  7#h7 ,this engagement   
became known as the ,wounded ,knee      
,massacre1 and took place between       
unarmed ,native ,americans and soldiers1
 heavily armed with standard issue army 
rifles as well as four ,hotchkiss guns  
with five #cg mm barrels capable of     
firing #dc rounds per minute4  7#i7     
,nearly two-thirds of the ,native       
,americans killed during the ,massacre  
were unarmed women and children who were
 participating in a ceremony to restore 
their traditional homelands prior to the
 arrival of ,european settlers4  7#aj7  
,poor tactical emplacement of the       
soldiers meant that most of the         
casualties suffered by the ,united      
,states troops were inflicted by        
friendly fire4  7#aa7 ,on ,january #ast1
 #ahia1 ,major ,general ,nelson ,a4     
,miles1 ,commander of the ,division of  
,missouri1 telegraphed ,major ,general  
,john ,m4 ,schofield1                   
,commander-in-,chief of the ,army       
notifying him that ,it is stated that   

the disposition of four hundred soldiers
 and four pieces of artillery was       
fatally defective and large number of   
soldiers were killed and wounded by the 
fire from their own ranks and a very    
large number of women and children were 
killed in addition to the ,indian men4  
7#ab7 ,the ,united ,states awarded #bj  
,medals of ,honor to soldiers of the    
,u4,s4 #gth ,cavalry following their    
participation in the ,wounded ,knee     
,massacre4  7#ac7 ,in #bjja1 the        
,cheyenne ,river ,sioux ,tribe1 a member
 ,tribe of the ,great ,sioux ,nation1   
upon information provided by ,lakota    
elders and by veterans1 passed ,tribal  
,council ,resolution ,no4 #acb-ja1      
requesting that the ,federal ,government
 revoke the ,medals of ,honor from the  
soldiers of the ,united ,states ,army1  
#gth ,cavalry issued following the      
massacre of unarmed men1 women1         
children1 and elderly of the ,great     
,sioux ,nation on ,december #bi1 #ahij1 
on ,tribal ,lands near ,wounded ,knee   

,creek4  7#ad7 ,the ,national ,congress 
of ,american ,indians requested in a    
#bjjg ,resolution that the ,congress    
renounce the issuance of said medals1   
and_/or to proclaim that the medals are 
null and void1 given the atrocities     
committed upon unarmed men1 women1      
children and elderly of the ,great      
,sioux ,nation4  7#ae7 ,general ,miles  
contemporaneously stated that a         
wholesale massacre occurred and ,i have 
never heard of a more brutal1           
cold-blooded massacre than that at      
,wounded ,knee4  7#af7 ,allowing any    
,medal of ,honor1 the ,united ,states   
highest and most prestigious military   
decoration1 to recognize a member of the
 ,armed ,forces for distinguished       
service for participating in the        
massacre of hundreds of unarmed ,native 
,americans is a disservice to the       
integrity of the ,united ,states and its
 citizens1 and impinges on the integrity
 of the award and those who have earned 
the ,medal since4  #c4 ,rescission of   

,medals of ,honor awarded for acts at   
,wounded ,knee ,creek on ,december #bi1 
#ahij  7a7 ,in general ,each ,medal of  
,honor awarded for acts at ,wounded     
,knee ,creek1 ,lakota ,pine ,ridge      
,indian ,reservation1 ,south ,dakota1 on
 ,december #bi1 #ahij1 is rescinded4    
7b7 ,medal of ,honor ,roll ,the         
,secretary concerned shall remove the   
name of each individual awarded a ,medal
 of ,honor for acts described in        
subsection 7a7 from the ,army1 ,navy1   
,air ,force1 and ,coast ,guard ,medal of
 ,honor ,roll maintained under section  
#aacd;a of title #aj1 ,united ,states   
,code4  7c7 ,return of medal not        
required ,no person may be required to  
return to the ,federal ,government a    
,medal of ,honor rescinded under        
subsection 7a74  7d7 ,no denial of      
benefits ,this ,act shall not be        
construed to deny any individual any    
benefit from the ,federal ,government4