Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 120.djvu/355

 120 STAT. 324

PUBLIC LAW 109–213—APR. 11, 2006 (14) For every Black pilot, there were 12 other civilian or military Black men and women performing ground support duties. Many of these men and women remained in the military service during the post-World War II era and spearheaded the integration of the Armed Forces of the United States. (15) Major achievements are attributed to many of those who returned to civilian life and earned leadership positions and respect as businessmen, corporate executives, religious leaders, lawyers, doctors, educators, bankers, and political leaders. (16) A period of nearly 30 years of anonymity for the Tuskegee Airmen was ended in 1972 with the founding of Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., in Detroit, Michigan. Organized as a non-military and nonprofit entity, Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., exists primarily to motivate and inspire young Americans to become participants in our Nation’s society and its democratic process, and to preserve the history of their legacy. (17) The Tuskegee Airmen have several memorials in place to perpetuate the memory of who they were and what they accomplished, including— (A) the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., National Scholarship Fund for high school seniors who excel in mathematics, but need financial assistance to begin a college program; (B) a museum in historic Fort Wayne in Detroit, Michigan; (C) Memorial Park at the Air Force Museum at WrightPatterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio; (D) a statue of a Tuskegee Airman in the Honor Park at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado; and (E) a National Historic Site at Moton Field, where primary flight training was performed under contract with the Tuskegee Institute.

Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.

SEC. 2. 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 the Congress, of a single gold medal of appropriate design in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen, collectively, in recognition of their unique military record, which inspired revolutionary reform in the Armed Forces. (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purposes of the award referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter 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) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the gold medal in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen under subsection (a), the gold medal shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where it will be displayed as appropriate and made available for research. (2) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the Congress that the Smithsonian Institution should make the gold

VerDate 14-DEC-2004

10:20 Jul 12, 2007

Jkt 059194

PO 00001

Frm 00322

Fmt 6580

Sfmt 6581

E:\PUBLAW\PUBL001.109

APPS06

PsN: PUBL001

�