114 STAT. 2763A-312 PUBLIC LAW 106-554r-APPENDIX D (8) the Navajo language, discouraged in the past, was instrumental in developing the most significant and successful military code of the time; (9) at Iwo Jima alone, the Navajo Code Talkers passed over 800 error-free messages in a 48-hour period; (10) use of the Navajo Code was so successful, that— (A) military commanders credited it in saving the lives of countless American soldiers and in the success of the engagements of the United States in the battles of Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa; (B) some Code Talkers were guarded by fellow marines, whose role was to kill them in case of imminent capture by the enemy; and (C) the Navajo Code was kept secret for 23 years after the end of World War II; (11) following the conclusion of World War II, the Department of Defense maintained the secrecy of the Navajo code until it was declassified in 1968; and (12) only then did a realization of the sacrifice and valor of these brave Native Americans emerge from history. (b)(1) To express recognition by the United States and its citizens in honoring the Navajo Code Talkers, who distinguished themselves in performing a unique, highly successful communications operation that greatly assisted in saving countless lives and hastening the end of World War II in the Pacific, the President is authorized— (A) to award to each of the original 29 Navajo Code Talkers, or a surviving family member, on behalf of the Congress, a gold medal of appropriate design, honoring the Navajo Code Talkers; and (B) to award to each person who qualified as a Navajo Code Talker (MOS 642), or a surviving family member, on behalf of the Congress, a silver medal of appropriate design, honoring the Navajo Code Talkers. (2) For purposes of the awards authorized by paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Treasury (in this section referred to as the "Secretary") shall strike gold and silver medals with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary. (c) The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the medals struck pursuant to this section, under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, and a price sufficient to cover the costs thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, and the cost of the medals. (d) The medals struck pursuant to this section are national medals for purposes of chapter 51, of title 31, United States Code. (e)(1) There is authorized to be charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund, such sums as may be necessary to pay for the costs of the medals authorized by this section. (2) Amounts received from the sale of duplicate medals under this section shall be deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
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