,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ijf  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of   
,,representatives  ,january #cj1        
#bjai,mr4 ,king of ,new ,york 7for      
himself1 ,mr4 ,bishop of ,georgia1 ,mr4 
,young1 ,mr4 ,kinzinger1 ,mr4           
,fleischmann1 ,mr4 ,fitzpatrick1 ,mr4   
,zeldin1 and ,mr4 ,aguilar7 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
 #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 makes the
 following findings3  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 ,burma4 ,this unit's 
mission would be to cut off ,japanese   
communications and supply lines1 and    
capture ,japanese-held airfield and town
 of ,myitkyina4  7#b7 ,president        
,roosevelt issued a call for volunteers 
for a dangerous and hazardous mission1  
the call was answered by approximately  
#c1jjj ,american soldiers4 ,the unit was
 officially designated as the #ecjgth   
,composite ,unit 7,provisional7 ,code   
,name3 ,galahad4 ,later it became known 
as ,merrill's ,marauders named after its
 leader1 ,brigadier ,general ,frank     
,merrill4  7#c7 ,in ,february #aidd the 
,marauders began their approximately    
#a1jjj-mile trek through the dense      

,burmese jungle4 ,the ,marauders had no 
artillery support and carried their     
supplies on their backs or the pack     
saddles of mules4  7#d7 ,over the course
 of their #e-month trek to ,myitkyina1  
the ,marauders fought victoriously      
against larger ,japanese forces through 
#e major and #cj minor engagements4     
7#e7 ,during their march to ,myitkyina  
the ,marauders faced hunger and disease 
that were exacerbated by inadequate     
aerial resupply drops4 ,malaria1 typhus1
 and dysentery inflicted more casualties
 on the ,marauders than the ,japanese4  
7#f7 ,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 ,burma4  7#g7 ,after taking   
,myitkyina only #acj ,marauders out of  
the original #b1gej were fit for duty4  
,all remaining ,marauders still in      
action were evacuated to hospitals due  

to tropical diseases1 exhaustion1 and   
malnutrition4  7#h7 ,for their bravery  
and accomplishments the ,marauders were 
awarded the ,distinguished ,unit        
,citation1 later redesignated as the    
,presidential ,unit ,citation4 ,each    
,marauder also earned a ,bronze ,star   
for his service4  7#i7 ,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 7hereafter in this ,act       
referred to 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 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 #d1 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