Bill > HR4901

This bill seeks to award a collective Congressional Gold Medal to the women who served in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps and U.S. Navy Nurse Corps during World War II, recognizing their extraordinary contributions and sacrifices. The bill highlights the nurses' critical roles during the war, including serving in dangerous front-line conditions across six continents, enduring hardships such as enemy fire, imprisonment, and minimal resources, while providing essential medical care that helped save the lives of American soldiers. The findings detail how these nurses went from fewer than 2,300 active-duty nurses in 1935 to over 73,000 by the war's end, and how they faced significant challenges like receiving lower pay, lacking military status, and experiencing racial discrimination. The bill mandates that the Speaker of the House and Senate President pro tempore arrange for a gold medal to be created, which will be subsequently donated to the Smithsonian Institution for display and research, with recommendations to exhibit it at various military and historical locations associated with military nursing. Additionally, the bill allows for the creation and sale of bronze duplicates to cover production costs, and establishes the medal's status as a national numismatic item. The legislation serves to provide long-overdue official recognition for these nurses' bravery, with findings emphasizing that their work was instrumental in maintaining low mortality rates and supporting the Allied victory in World War II.

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https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4901/all-info