,i #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #ebdh ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,november #ba1 #bjai,mr4 ,suozzi 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 award a ,congressional gold medal to the #cfith ,infantry ,regiment1 commonly known as the ,harlem ,hellfighters1 in recognition of their bravery and outstanding service during ,world ,war ,i4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,harlem ,hellfighters ,congressional ,gold ,medal ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,when the ,united ,states officially entered ,world ,war ,i in ,april #aiag1 the ,armed ,forces were still segregated1 even though ,african-,american soldiers had served and distinguished themselves in every war since the ,revolutionary ,war4 7#b7 ,the #aeth ,new ,york ,national ,guard ,regiment was mobilized in #aiag as the #cfith ,infantry ,regiment and called into ,federal service on ,july #be1 #aiag4 7#c7 ,the #cfith completed its basic military practice training at ,camp ,whitman1 ,new ,york4 7#d7 ,to receive combat training1 the #cfith reported on ,october #h1 #aiag1 to ,camp ,wadsworth1 ,south ,carolina1 where the #cfith experienced many incidents of racial discrimination4 7#e7 ,because many ,white soldiers refused to perform combat duty with ,black soldiers1 members of the #cfith were initially assigned manual labor tasks1 such as loading and unloading supplies1 and constructing roads and railroads4 7#f7 ,to escape such prejudice1 the ,regiment shipped off to ,france in early #aiah and1 on ,april #h of that year1 was assigned to the ,french ,army for the duration of ,american participation in the war4 7#g7 ,on ,september #be1 #aiah1 the ,fourth ,french ,army went on the offensive in conjunction with the ,american drive in the ,meuse-,argonne where the #cfith captured the important village of ,sechault despite sustaining severe losses4 7#h7 ,the #cfith was also present in the ,champagne-,marne1 ,meuse-,argonne1 ,champagne #aiah1 and ,alsace #aiah campaigns1 and fought in the ,battles of ,belleau ,wood and ,chateau-,thierry4 7#i7 ,on ,november #bf1 #aiah1 the #cfith reached the banks of the ,rhine ,river1 the first ,allied unit to do so4 7#aj7 ,the #cfith was relieved of its assignment with the ,french #afast ,division on ,december #ab1 #aiah1 then returned to ,new ,york1 and was demobilized on ,february #bh1 #aiai4 7#aa7 ,the #cfith received a parade down #eth ,avenue in ,new ,york on ,february #ag1 #aiai1 receiving applause and cheers from hundreds of thousands of onlookers4 7#ab7 ,for his courageous and patriotic service1 ,private ,henry ,johnson of the #cfith received the ,french ,croix de ,guerre1 with ,palm1 for extraordinary valor1 the first ,american to be awarded this honor4 ,he also belatedly received a ,purple ,heart1 was awarded the ,distinguished ,service ,cross1 and in #bjae was awarded the ,medal of ,honor4 7#ac7 ,over #agj individual members of the #cfith received the ,croix de ,guerre1 many1 the ,distinguished ,service ,cross1 and the #cfith was awarded a unit citation4 7#ad7 ,the #cfith was dubbed the ,harlem ,hellfighters by ,german soldiers1 who found the men to be incredibly determined and courageous in battle4 7#ae7 ,the #cfith was one of the first regiments of ,african ,americans to serve with the ,american ,expeditionary ,forces during ,world ,war ,i and one of the first units in the ,united ,states to have ,black officers lead enlisted men4 7#af7 ,altogether1 the #cfith spent #aia days on the front line in ,world ,war ,i1 more than any other ,american unit4 7#ag7 ,the #cfith never lost a foot of ground or had a man taken prisoner1 despite suffering greater losses than any other ,american regiment1 with over #a1ejj casualties4 #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 #cfith ,infantry ,regiment1 commonly known as the ,harlem ,hellfighters1 in recognition of their bravery and outstanding service during ,world ,war ,i4 7b7 ,design and striking ,for the purposes of the award referred to in subsection 7a71 the ,secretary of the ,treasury 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 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 the ,harlem ,hellfighters4 #d4 ,duplicate medals ,under such regulations as the ,secretary of the ,treasury may prescribe1 the ,secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal struck under section #c7;b71 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