1. Short title This Act may be cited as the American Patriots of WWII through Service with the Canadian and British Armed Forces Gold Medal Act of 2017 . 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) Americans from across the country served in defense of democracy and freedom during World War Two (WWII) by volunteering for service with the Canadian and British militaries and other associated organizations that were fighting Nazi and Fascist aggression. Many United States citizens perceived the importance of this war and the severe impact Nazism and Fascism could have on the American way of life. Therefore, prior to the United States entry into the conflict and indeed throughout WWII these patriots independently crossed the border into Canada and entered Canadian and British armed forces recruiting offices or sought out representatives based in major United States municipalities and elsewhere. (2) When the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the British Commonwealth of Nations were drawn into WWII after Germany invaded Poland in 1939, the Canadian and British air forces made a concerted effort to recruit Americans. (3) It is documented that thousands of Americans joined the Canadian and British armed forces, a large percentage joining the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) alone. In a 1942 film Air Marshal William Avery Billy Bishop, an organizer and promoter of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) and Director of the Royal Canadian Air Force, recognized the gallant lads from the United States who have come up here to help and serve with us . Notably, many Americans were also recruited and processed through Canada before being assigned to or detached for the purpose of Royal Air Force (RAF) service. (4) General of the Army, Army of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower, the former Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, referenced, in a speech on January 10, 1946, the some twelve thousand American citizens who crossed into Canada with the goal of entering the