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108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 674
To authorize the President to present a gold medal on behalf of the
Congress to the Choctaw Code Talkers in recognition of their
contributions to the Nation, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 11, 2003
Mr. Carson of Oklahoma introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the President to present a gold medal on behalf of the
Congress to the Choctaw Code Talkers in recognition of their
contributions to the Nation, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Choctaw Code Talkers Recognition
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) On April 6, 1917, the United States, after
extraordinary provocations, declared war on Germany, thus the
United States entered World War I, the War to End All Wars.
(2) At the time of this declaration of war, Indian people
in the United States, including members of the Choctaw Nation,
were not accorded the status of citizens of the United States.
(3) Without regard to this lack of citizenship, many
members of the Choctaw Nation joined many members of other
Indian tribes and nations in enlisting in the Armed Forces to
fight on behalf of their native land.
(4) Members of the Choctaw Nation were enlisted in the
force known as the American Expeditionary Force, which began
hostile actions in France in the fall of 1917, and
specifically, members of the Choctaw Nation were incorporated
in a company of Indian enlistees serving in the 142d Infantry
Company of the 36th Division.
(5) A major impediment to Allied operations in general, and
American operations in particular, was the fact that the German
forces had deciphered all codes used for transmitting
information between Allied commands, leading to substantial
loss of men and materiel during the first year of American
action.
(6) Because of the proximity and static nature of the
battle lines, a method to communicate without the knowledge of
the enemy was needed.
(7) An American commander realized the fact that he had
under his command a number of men who spoke a native language.
While the use of such native languages was discouraged by the
American Government, the commander sought out and recruited 18
Choctaw Indians to use for transmission of field telephone
communications during an upcoming campaign.
(8) Because the language used by the Choctaw soldiers in
the transmission of information was not based on a European
language or on a mathematical progression, the Germans were
unable to understand any of the transmissions.
(9) The Choctaw soldiers were placed in different command
positions, to achieve the widest possible area for
communications.
(10) The use of the Choctaw Code Talkers was particularly
important in the movement of American soldiers in October of
1918 (including securing forward and exposed positions), in the
protection of supplies during American action (including
protecting gun emplacements from enemy shelling), and in the
preparation for the assault on German positions in the final
stages of combat operations in the fall of 1918.
(11) In the opinion of the officers involved, the use of
Choctaw Indians to transmit information in their native
language saved men and munitions, and was highly successful.
Based on this successful experience, Choctaw Indians were being
withdrawn from frontline units for training in transmission of
codes so as to be more widely used when the war came to a halt.
(12) The Germans never succeeded in breaking the Choctaw
code.
(13) This was the first time in modern warfare that such
transmission of messages in a native American language was used
for the purpose of confusing the enemy.
(14) This action by members of the Choctaw Nation is
another example of the commitment of American Indians to the
defense of our great Nation and adds to the proud legacy of
such service.
(15) The Choctaw Nation has honored the actions of these 18
Choctaw Code Talkers through a memorial bearing their names
located at the entrance of the tribal complex in Durant,
Oklahoma.
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
(a) Presentation Authorized.--To express recognition by the United
States of America and its citizens in honoring the Choctaw Code Talkers
who distinguished themselves in performing a unique, highly successful
communications operation that greatly assisted in saving countless
lives and in hastening the end of World War I, the President is
authorized to present to each Choctaw Code Talker, or a surviving
family member of that Code Talker, on behalf of the Congress, a gold
medal of appropriate design honoring the Choctaw Code Talkers.
(b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes of the presentations
referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter
in this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall strike gold medals
with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by
the Secretary.
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold
medal struck pursuant to section 3 under such regulations as the
Secretary may prescribe, and at a price sufficient to cover the costs
thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and
overhead expenses, and the cost of the gold medal.
SEC. 5. STATUS AS NATIONAL MEDALS.
The medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals for
purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
SEC. 6. FUNDING.
(a) Authority to Use Fund Amounts.--There is authorized to be
charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund an amount
not to exceed $30,000 to pay for the costs of the medals authorized by
this Act.
(b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of duplicate
bronze medals under section 3 shall be deposited in the United States
Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
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