H.R. 5879House115th Congress (2017-2019)In Committee

Merchant Mariners of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2018

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Updated April 15, 2026 at 9:59 PM UTC

The bill authorizes Congress to award a single Congressional Gold Medal to the United States Merchant Mariners of World War II in recognition of their vital service during the war. It directs the House Speaker and Senate President pro tempore to arrange the award, and the Treasury Secretary to design and strike the medal. The medal will be placed in the American Merchant Marine Museum for public display, and bronze duplicates may be produced and sold to cover costs. The measure honors the collective contributions of WWII merchant mariners.

Key Provisions

Authorizes the Speaker of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange the award of one gold medal to WWII U.S. Merchant Mariners on behalf of Congress
Directs the Treasury Secretary to design and strike the medal with appropriate emblems and inscriptions
Requires the gold medal to be given to the American Merchant Marine Museum for display, with a sense of Congress that it may be loaned to other relevant locations
Allows the Treasury Secretary to produce and sell bronze duplicate medals to cover production expenses
Designates medals struck under the act as national medals and as numismatic items under U.S. Code

Legislative Activity

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2 earlier actions

HouseIntro Referral Latest Action

Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H4586)

May 23, 2018

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

May 18, 2018

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.

Financial Services Committee

May 18, 2018

HouseIntro Referral

Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H4586)

May 23, 2018

Floor Debate

1 member

What members said about H.R. 5879 on the floor

1 Democrat

Rep. John GaramendiD-CA-3 · May 23, 2018

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in memory of an extraordinary group of people. Yesterday was National Maritime Day, and I rise to bring attention to the House legislation that I recently introduced, H.R.…

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in memory of an extraordinary group of people.

Yesterday was National Maritime Day, and I rise to bring attention to the House legislation that I recently introduced, H.R. 5879, the World War II Merchant Marine Congressional Gold Medal. I hear the cheers from all of my colleagues here on the floor as they line up to support this piece of legislation.

Last year, my colleague, Susan Brooks, my good Republican friend, introduced this legislation. I am grateful to her and to Congressman Don Young of Alaska for their support of this legislation this year. This bill has obvious bipartisan support and bicameral support. Senator Murkowski of Alaska is leading this bill in what some call the upper Chamber; we simply call it the Senate.

During World War II, our Armed Forces relied upon the Merchant Marine to ferry supplies, cargo, manpower and womanpower into both theaters of operation: the Pacific and the Atlantic. They paid a heavy price for their service.

The Merchant Marine casualty rate was the highest among all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. An estimated 8,300 merchant mariners lost their life during the war, and around 12,000 were wounded. But these brave men and women, who put their lives on the line to sustain our Armed Forces, were not even given veteran status until 1988, much less public recognition for their invaluable service.

Today, I am going to meet with a group of World War II Merchant Marine veterans: Charles Mills from Texas, age 97; Eugene Barner from Kansas, age 92; and Robert Weagant from Illinois, age 92. I will also be meeting with families of other veterans who are no longer with us. I am meeting them to hear firsthand their stories of bravery and peril in the service of our Armed Forces. They deserve the recognition of a Congressional Gold Medal, and that is precisely what this legislation will do.

I urge all of the Members of this House and the Senate to give our Merchant Marine veterans and their families the honor they deserve.

I will also be discussing with these gentlemen and their families a piece of legislation that we introduced the day before yesterday, we call it the Energizing the American Shipbuilding Industry--taking a small percentage of the oil and natural gas that we are now exporting and requiring that that be on American-built ships with American mariners, so that we can maintain the extraordinary tradition of bravery and service that the World War II mariners showed this Nation.

If we are successful in passing this legislation, we will be building some 50 ships, or more, in our shipyards all across America, providing jobs in the upper Midwest, where they build the great engines for these ships: the pumps, the pipes, and the electronic systems. We would also be providing some 1,800 jobs for the next generation of mariners.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues not only to support the Congressional Gold Medal for the World War II mariners, but support our effort to create mariners for the next generation, which, hopefully, will not be a war but, if it is, we know that we can rely on them, just as we did in World War II.

Bill Text

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Introduced in HouseIssued May 18, 2018

115th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 5879

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

May 18, 2018

Mr. Garamendi (for himself, Mrs. Brooks of Indiana, and Mr. Young of Alaska) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

A BILL

To award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the United States Merchant Mariners of World War II, in recognition of their dedicated and vital service during World War II.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Merchant Mariners of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2018.

Findings

Congress finds the following:

(1)

2015 marked the 70th anniversary of the Allied victory in World War II and the restoration of peacetime across the European and Pacific theaters.

(2)

The United States Merchant Marine (in this section referred to as the Merchant Marine) was integral in providing the link between domestic production and the fighting forces overseas, providing combat equipment, fuel, food, commodities, and raw materials to troops stationed abroad.

(3)

Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King acknowledged the indispensability of the Merchant Marine to the victory in a 1945 letter stating that, without the support of the Merchant Marine, the Navy could not have accomplished its mission.

(4)

President, and former Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, Dwight D. Eisenhower acknowledged that through the prompt delivery of supplies and equipment to our armed forces overseas, and of cargoes representing economic and military aid to friendly nations, the American Merchant Marine has effectively helped to strengthen the forces of freedom throughout the world.

(5)

Military missions and war planning were contingent upon the availability of resources and the Merchant Marine played a vital role in this regard, ensuring the efficient and reliable transoceanic transport of military equipment and both military and civilian personnel.

(6)

The Merchant Marine provided for the successful transport of resources and personnel despite consistent and ongoing exposure to enemy combatants from both the air and the sea, including from enemy bomber squadrons, submarines, and mines.

(7)

The efforts of the Merchant Marine were not without sacrifices as the Merchant Marine bore a higher per-capita casualty rate than any other branch of the military during the war.

(8)

The Merchant Marine proved to be an instrumental asset on an untold number of occasions, participating in every landing operation by the United States Marine Corps, from Guadalcanal to Iwo Jima.

(9)

The Merchant Marine provided the bulk tonnage of material necessary for the invasion of Normandy, an invasion which, according to a 1944 New York Times article, would not have been possible without the Merchant Marine.

(10)

In assessing the performance of the Merchant Marine, General Eisenhower stated, every man in this Allied command is quick to express his admiration for the loyalty, courage, and fortitude of the officers and men of the Merchant Marine. We count upon their efficiency and their utter devotion to duty as we do our own; they have never failed us.

(11)

During a September 1944 speech, President Franklin D. Roosevelt stated that the Merchant Marine had delivered the goods when and where needed in every theater of operations and across every ocean in the biggest, the most difficult, and dangerous transportation job ever undertaken. As time goes on, there will be greater public understanding of our merchant fleet’s record during this war..

(12)

The feats and accomplishments of the Merchant Marine are deserving of broader public recognition.

(13)

The United States will be forever grateful and indebted to these merchant mariners for their effective, reliable, and courageous transport of goods and resources in enemy territory throughout theaters of every variety in World War II.

(14)

The goods and resources transported by the Merchant Marine saved thousands of lives and enabled the Allied Powers to claim victory in World War II.

(15)

The Congressional Gold Medal would be an appropriate way to shed further light on the service of the merchant mariners in World War II and the instrumental role they played in winning that war.

Congressional gold medal

(a)

Award Authorized

The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the award, on behalf of Congress, of a single gold medal of appropriate design to the United States Merchant Mariners of World War II, in recognition of their dedicated and vital service during World War II.

(b)

Design and Striking

For the purposes of the award described in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (in this Act referred to as the Secretary) shall strike the gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary.

(c)

American Merchant Marine Museum

(1)

In general

Following the award of the gold medal under subsection (a), the gold medal shall be given to the American Merchant Marine Museum, where it will be available for display as appropriate and available for research.

(2)

Sense of Congress

It is the sense of Congress that the American Merchant Marine Museum should make the gold medal given to the Museum under paragraph (1) available for display elsewhere, particularly at appropriate locations associated with the United States Merchant Marine and that preference should be given to locations affiliated with the United States Merchant Marine.

Duplicate medals

Under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal struck under section 3, at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the medals, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses.

Status of medals

(a)

National medals

Medals struck under this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.

(b)

Numismatic items

For purposes of section 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items.