IC
116TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
S. 1757
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 9, 2020
Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Com-
mittee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
AN ACT
To award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the
United States Army Rangers Veterans of World War
II in recognition of their extraordinary service during
World War II.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
1
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States Army
2
Rangers Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold
3
Medal Act’’.
4
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
5
In this Act—
6
(1) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary
7
of the Treasury; and
8
(2) the term ‘‘United States Army Rangers
9
Veteran of World War II’’ means any individual
10
who—
11
(A) served in the Armed Forces—
12
(i) honorably;
13
(ii) in an active duty status; and
14
(iii) at any time during the period be-
15
ginning on June 19, 1942, and ending on
16
September 2, 1945; and
17
(B) was assigned to a Ranger Battalion of
18
the Army at any time during the period de-
19
scribed in subparagraph (A)(iii).
20
SEC. 3. FINDINGS.
21
Congress finds the following:
22
(1) In World War II, the Army formed 6 Rang-
23
er Battalions and 1 provisional battalion. All mem-
24
bers of the Ranger Battalions were volunteers. The
25
initial concept of Ranger units drew from the British
26
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method of using highly trained ‘‘commando’’ units
1
and the military tradition of the United States of
2
utilizing light infantry for scouting and raiding oper-
3
ations.
4
(2) The Ranger Battalions of World War II
5
consisted of—
6
(A) the 1st Ranger Infantry Battalion,
7
which was activated on June 19, 1942, in
8
Northern Ireland;
9
(B) the 2d Ranger Infantry Battalion,
10
which was activated on April 1, 1943, at Camp
11
Forrest, Tennessee;
12
(C) the 3d Ranger Infantry Battalion,
13
which was—
14
(i) activated as provisional on May 21,
15
1943, in North Africa; and
16
(ii) constituted on July 21, 1943, and
17
concurrently consolidated with the provi-
18
sional unit described in clause (i);
19
(D) the 4th Ranger Infantry Battalion,
20
which was—
21
(i) activated as provisional on May 29,
22
1943, in North Africa; and
23
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(ii) constituted on July 21, 1943, and
1
concurrently consolidated with the provi-
2
sional unit described in clause (i);
3
(E) the 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion,
4
which was activated on September 1, 1943, at
5
Camp Forrest, Tennessee;
6
(F) the 6th Ranger Infantry Battalion,
7
which was—
8
(i) originally activated on January 20,
9
1941, at Fort Lewis, Washington, as the
10
98th Field Artillery Battalion; and
11
(ii) converted and redesignated on
12
September 26, 1944, as the 6th Ranger
13
Infantry Battalion; and
14
(G) the 29th Ranger Infantry Battalion, a
15
provisional Army National Guard unit that
16
was—
17
(i) activated on December 20, 1942,
18
at Tidworth Barracks, England; and
19
(ii) disbanded on October 18, 1943.
20
(3) The first combat operations of Army Rang-
21
ers occurred on August 19, 1942, when 50 Rangers
22
took part in the British-Canadian raid on the
23
French coastal town of Dieppe.
24
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(4) The 1st Ranger Battalion, under the leader-
1
ship of Major William O. Darby, was used in full
2
strength during the landings at Arsew, Algeria, dur-
3
ing the North African campaign. Due to the success
4
of the Rangers in several difficult battles, particu-
5
larly at El Guettar in March and April of 1943, 2
6
additional Ranger Battalions were organized in
7
North Africa.
8
(5) During the North African campaign, the 1st
9
Ranger Battalion was awarded battle honors for its
10
actions in Tunisia. On March 20, 1943, the Bat-
11
talion penetrated enemy lines and captured the posi-
12
tion Djebel el Ank in a nighttime attack, taking
13
more than 200 prisoners. Three days later, the bat-
14
talion was attacked by the 10th Panzer division of
15
the German Afrika Korps and, despite heavy losses,
16
defended its position and inflicted considerable losses
17
on the enemy. This engagement constituted what
18
General Omar Bradley labeled ‘‘the first solid, indis-
19
putable defeat we inflicted on the German army in
20
the war’’. These actions demonstrated the ability of
21
the Rangers to fight in difficult terrain and the
22
courage to endure despite being outnumbered and
23
exposed to heavy enemy fire.
24
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(6) The 29th provisional Ranger Battalion was
1
formed from volunteers drawn from the 29th Infan-
2
try Division stationed in England in the fall of 1942.
3
The Battalion was activated on December 20, 1942,
4
and accompanied British commandos on 3 small-
5
scale raids in Norway. Nineteen members of the
6
29th Ranger Battalion conducted a raid on a Ger-
7
man radar site in France on the night of September
8
3, 1943. After that raid, the 29th Ranger Battalion
9
was disbanded because new Ranger units, the 2d
10
and 5th Battalions, were being formed.
11
(7) During the summer and fall of 1943, the
12
1st, 3d, and 4th Ranger Battalions were heavily in-
13
volved in the campaign in Sicily and the landings in
14
Italy. The 1st and 4th Ranger Battalions conducted
15
a night amphibious landing in Sicily and secured the
16
landing beaches for the main force. The 3d Bat-
17
talion landed separately at Licata, Sicily, and was
18
able to silence gun positions on an 82-foot cliff over-
19
looking the invasion beaches.
20
(8) During the invasion of Italy, the 1st, 3d,
21
and 4th Ranger Battalions landed at Maiori with the
22
mission of seizing the high ground and protecting
23
the flank of the remainder of the main landing by
24
the United States. Despite suffering from low am-
25
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munition and inadequate provisions and water, the
1
Rangers fended off numerous enemy counterattacks
2
against the mountain passes and via radio directed
3
naval gunfire on the enemy forces approaching the
4
beaches below.
5
(9) After the invasion of Italy, Rangers contin-
6
ued to be used, often in night attacks, to seize key
7
terrain ahead of the advancing Allied forces. At the
8
Anzio beachhead, the majority of the 1st, 3d, and
9
4th Ranger Battalions sustained heavy casualties
10
after being cut off behind German lines. The Rang-
11
ers had planned to infiltrate German positions under
12
the cover of darkness and make a dawn attack on
13
a critical road junction but were pinned down by
14
enemy tanks and an elite German paratrooper unit.
15
After 12 hours of desperate fighting and a failed re-
16
lief attempt, the majority of the Ranger force was
17
killed, wounded, or captured. Only 6 Rangers from
18
the 1st and 3d Battalions, out of more than 767
19
men, returned to friendly lines. The 4th Battalion,
20
which had been in reserve, also suffered 60 killed
21
and 120 wounded out of 550 men. These 3 battal-
22
ions were inactivated and the survivors were trans-
23
ferred to other units.
24
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(10) In the United States, and later in Scot-
1
land, the 2d and 5th Ranger Battalions were formed
2
to undertake operations in Western Europe. Those
3
Battalions were engaged on D-Day, assaulting Ger-
4
man positions at the Pointe du Hoc coastal battery,
5
and remained in combat through September of
6
1944. Specifically, Rangers in the 2d Battalion,
7
under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James E.
8
Rudder—
9
(A) overcame mines, machine gun fire, and
10
enemy artillery while scaling the 100-foot high
11
cliffs at Pointe du Hoc;
12
(B) held against intense German efforts to
13
retake the position; and
14
(C) after reaching the top of the cliffs,
15
moved inland roughly 1 mile and sustained
16
heavy casualties while searching for, and ulti-
17
mately destroying, a German heavy artillery
18
battery.
19
(11) During June, July, and August of 1944,
20
the 2d and 5th Ranger Battalions were engaged in
21
the campaign in Brest, which included close-range
22
fighting in hedgerows and numerous villages. Later,
23
in operations in Western Germany, the Battalions
24
were frequently used to attack in darkness and gain
25
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vital positions to pave the way for the main Army
1
attacks.
2
(12) During the final drive into Germany in
3
late February and early March 1945, the 5th Rang-
4
er Battalion was cited for battle honors for out-
5
standing performance. Under the cover of darkness
6
the unit drove into German lines and secured the ob-
7
jective area blocking the main German supply route.
8
The Germans attacked the position of the Rangers
9
from both sides, resulting in heavy Ranger casualties
10
during 5 days of fighting. As a result of the actions
11
of the Rangers, the main Army attack was able to
12
overcome German defenses more easily, occupy the
13
vital city of Trier, and reach the Rhine River.
14
(13) The 6th Ranger Battalion operated in the
15
Pacific. In the most notable exploit of the 6th Rang-
16
er Battalion, in January and February of 1945, the
17
Battalion formed the nucleus of a rescue force that
18
liberated more than 500 Allied prisoners, including
19
prisoners from the United States, from the Caba-
20
natuan prisoner of war camp in the Philippines.
21
With the help of local Filipino guerillas, the Rang-
22
ers, led by Lieutenant Colonel Henry A. Mucci, dem-
23
onstrated extraordinary heroism by infiltrating Jap-
24
anese-held territory to reach the prisoners of war
25
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and prevent them from being killed by the Japanese.
1
After a 25-mile march at night through the jungle,
2
the unit killed all Japanese sentries with no loss of
3
life of the prisoners of war. The unit successfully re-
4
turned to American lines having lost only 2 soldiers
5
killed and having another 2 wounded.
6
(14) The 1st Ranger Infantry Battalion—
7
(A) participated in the campaigns of—
8
(i) Algeria-French Morocco (with ar-
9
rowhead);
10
(ii) Tunisia;
11
(iii) Sicily (with arrowhead);
12
(iv) Naples-Foggia (with arrowhead);
13
(v) Anzio (with arrowhead); and
14
(vi) Rome-Arno; and
15
(B) for its contributions, received—
16
(i) the Presidential Unit Citation
17
(Army) and streamer embroidered with
18
‘‘EL GUETTAR’’; and
19
(ii) the Presidential Unit Citation
20
(Army) and streamer embroidered with
21
‘‘SALERNO’’.
22
(15) The 2d Ranger Infantry Battalion—
23
(A) participated in the campaigns of—
24
(i) Normandy (with arrowhead);
25
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(ii) Northern France;
1
(iii) Rhineland;
2
(iv) Ardennes-Alsace; and
3
(v) Central Europe; and
4
(B) for its contributions, received—
5
(i) the Presidential Unit Citation
6
(Army) and streamer embroidered with
7
‘‘POINTE DU HOE’’; and
8
(ii) the French Croix de Guerre with
9
Silver-Gilt Star, World War II, and
10
streamer embroidered with ‘‘POINTE DU
11
HOE’’.
12
(16) The 3d Ranger Infantry Battalion—
13
(A) participated in the campaigns of—
14
(i) Sicily (with arrowhead);
15
(ii) Naples-Foggia (with arrowhead);
16
(iii) Anzio (with arrowhead); and
17
(iv) Rome-Arno; and
18
(B) for its contributions, received the Pres-
19
idential Unit Citation (Army) and streamer em-
20
broidered with ‘‘SALERNO’’.
21
(17) The 4th Ranger Infantry Battalion—
22
(A) participated in the campaigns of—
23
(i) Sicily (with arrowhead);
24
(ii) Naples-Foggia (with arrowhead);
25
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(iii) Anzio (with arrowhead); and
1
(iv) Rome-Arno; and
2
(B) for its contributions, received the Pres-
3
idential Unit Citation (Army) and streamer em-
4
broidered with ‘‘SALERNO’’.
5
(18) The 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion—
6
(A) participated in the campaigns of—
7
(i) Normandy (with arrowhead);
8
(ii) Northern France;
9
(iii) Rhineland;
10
(iv) Ardennes-Alsace; and
11
(v) Central Europe; and
12
(B) for its contributions, received—
13
(i) the Presidential Unit Citation
14
(Army) and streamer embroidered with
15
‘‘NORMANDY BEACHHEAD’’;
16
(ii) the Presidential Unit Citation
17
(Army) and streamer embroidered with
18
‘‘SAAR RIVER AREA’’; and
19
(iii) the French Croix de Guerre with
20
Silver-Gilt Star, World War II, and
21
streamer
embroidered
with
‘‘NOR-
22
MANDY’’.
23
(19) The 6th Ranger Infantry Battalion—
24
(A) participated in the campaigns of—
25
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(i) New Guinea;
1
(ii) Leyte (with arrowhead); and
2
(iii) Luzon; and
3
(B) for its contributions, received—
4
(i) the Presidential Unit Citation
5
(Army) and streamer embroidered with
6
‘‘CABU, LUZON’’; and
7
(ii) the Philippine Presidential Unit
8
Citation and streamer embroidered with
9
‘‘17 OCTOBER 1944 TO 4 JULY 1945’’.
10
(20) The United States will be forever indebted
11
to the United States Army Rangers Veterans of
12
World War II, whose bravery and sacrifice in com-
13
bat contributed greatly to the military success of the
14
United States
[Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]