Amid the 2020 Presidential election and the COVID-19 crisis, not enough support was drummed up in Congress to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the Rangers of World War II. But, as the Ranger Creed states, surrender is not a Ranger word.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) has reintroduced bill S.1872, United States Army Rangers Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act with Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) as the first co-sponsor.
Former Ranger Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) has reintroduced the bill as H.R. 3577 and already has 42 co-sponsors in the House, according to Ron Hudnell, the son of James Hudnell who served in D/co, 2nd Ranger Battalion during World War II.
"We are several months ahead of last year in the House!" Hudnell told Connecting Vets.
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"So many Rangers that had served in various eras have reached out to me and asked me to spearhead this because I had connections to the Ranger Regiment and Ranger Rendezvous at Fort Benning, Georgia," Ernst told Connecting Vets last year during the first attempt to award the World War II heroes the medal.
"We did have a lot of support and now having it passed unanimously in the Senate last week was a thrill for us," Sen. Ernst said.
Only 19 men remain of the some 7,000 who volunteered to serve in Ranger units during World War II.
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Reach Jack Murphy: jack@connectingvets.com or @JackMurphyRGR.
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