1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Colonel Young Oak Kim Congressional Gold Medal Act . 2. Findings The Congress finds the following: (1) Young Oak Kim was born in Los Angeles in 1919 to Korean American immigrants, where his family faced numerous challenges. After high school, Kim enrolled in Los Angeles City College, but dropped out after a year to find work to help support his family. (2) Because of racial discrimination, Kim struggled to keep employed. With the outbreak of World War II (WWII), Kim tried to enlist in the United States Army, but that opportunity was closed off to him, too, as an Asian American. However, after Congress extended conscription to Asian Americans, Kim was drafted into the Army, entering the service on January 31, 1941. (3) From the earliest days of Kim’s service in the United States Army, he distinguished himself as a leader, being selected for the Infantry Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia. Upon his commission as a second lieutenant in 1943, Kim was assigned to the all-Japanese American 100th Infantry Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team. (4) Young Oak Kim was assigned as an officer of the 100th Infantry Battalion that was formed on June 5, 1942, comprised of predominantly second-generation Americans of Japanese ancestry from the Hawaiian Islands. (5) When Kim reported to duty, his commanding officer gave Kim the option to transfer due to the historical conflicts between the Japanese and Koreans, but Kim stated, Sir, they’re Americans and I am an American. And we’re going to fight for America. . (6) The 100th Infantry Battalion was deployed to the Mediterranean and entered combat in Italy on September 26, 1943. The 100th Battalion fought at Cassino, Italy, in January 1944, and later accompanied the 34th Infantry Division to Anzio, Italy. (7) Kim’s most notable feat occurred at the Battle of Anzio. During broad daylight he volunteered to capture German soldiers for intelligence information. He and another soldier crawled more than 600 yards located