# Understanding the WWII Nurses Congressional Gold Medal Act

This bill honors the women who served as nurses in the Army and Navy during World War II by awarding them a Congressional Gold Medal. It's essentially Congress saying "thank you" to these nurses for their extraordinary service and sacrifice during the war.

The bill recognizes the remarkable contributions of over 59,000 Army nurses and 14,000 Navy nurses who volunteered during the war. These women worked in field hospitals across six continents, often under enemy fire, caring for wounded soldiers with minimal resources and no weapons for protection. Many served in extremely dangerous conditions—some were captured as prisoners of war by the Japanese and held for years in internment camps, while others were killed when their hospitals were bombed or their ships were torpedoed. The bill specifically highlights how these nurses served at places like Anzio in Italy, where they worked under constant German shellfire in what troops called "Hell's Half-Acre," and in North Africa, where they waded ashore under sniper fire with nothing but medical equipment. The bill also acknowledges the particular challenges faced by African-American nurses, who faced racial discrimination and were only reluctantly accepted into the Army Nurse Corps with strict quotas on how many could serve.

Practically speaking, this bill creates one gold medal that will be designed by the Treasury Department and then given to the Smithsonian Institution to display and preserve. The Smithsonian can loan it to other museums and military sites, like the National World War II Museum or the Army Women's Museum, so people can see it in different places. The bill also allows the government to make and sell bronze copies of the medal to cover the costs of creating it. For the surviving nurses and their families, this represents official national recognition of their service—something many felt was long overdue, since they initially received only half the pay of male nurses and no veteran benefits during the war itself.

WWII Nurses Congressional Gold Medal Act

Stefanik, Elise M.

WWII Nurses Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to World War II Army and Navy Nurse Corps members in recognition of their critical military service and devotion to duty.