Commems Collection Moden: What If? 2018 Duty First / House

In March 2017, during the 1st Session of the 115th Congress, Steve Russell (R-OK) introduced a bill in the House of Representatives ("House") that called for a three-coin commemorative program to mark the 100th Anniversary of the 1st Infantry Division.

The measure called for 20,000 Gold Half Eagles, 100,000 Silver Dollars and 200,000 Copper-Nickel ("CuNi") Clad Half Dollars. By the standards of modern United States ("US") commemorative coin programs, such mintage requests should be considered modest and would likely have led to a collector/dealer frenzy at its time of launch.

Upon its introduction, the coin bill was referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.

Russell's bill included an extensive "Findings" section:

Note: The "1 ID" used in the Findings is an abbreviation for '1st Infantry Division'.

"The congress finds the following:

"(1) The 1st Infantry Division was constituted on May 24, 1917, and is the first and oldest permanently established combat division of the United States Army. 2017 is the centennial of the Division.

"(2) The 1st Infantry Division has been in continuous service since its organization.

"(3) The 1st Infantry Division has fought with distinction in every major conflict since 1917 except the Korean War, when it was on occupation duty in Germany.

"(4) In World War I, the then-First Division was the first United States division to arrive in France. It fired the first American shots of the war, suffered the first casualties and secured the first American victory at the Battle of Cantigny in May, 1918. This was also the first modern, combined arms battle in American history. It fought with distinction in all subsequent campaigns and, after occupation duty in Germany, was the last combat division to return home in 1919.

"(5) Five division soldiers received the Medal of Honor in World War I.

"(6) In World War II, the 1 ID was the first to deploy to Europe. It fought in North Africa and Sicily in 1942 and 1943. General George S. Patton, Jr., commander of the United States 7th Army in the Mediterranean, stated that he would not invade Sicily without the 1 ID as the assault division.

"(7) The 1 ID was the lead assault division on Omaha beach in Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Against frightful odds and despite multiple challenges, it secured a beach head on a day when failure could have altered the outcome of the war.

"(8) The 1 ID played pivotal roles in the liberation of France and Belgium; the Battle of the Bulge; the crossing of the Rhine River; and the invasion and defeat of Nazi Germany. After the war, the Division supported and secured the International War Crimes Tribunal at Nuremburg, Germany, guarding infamous Nazi officials during the courtroom proceedings.

"(9) Seventeen division soldiers received the Medal of Honor in World War II.

"(10) The 1 ID was the only United States combat division in Europe from 1946 to 1951. It returned to the United States and Fort Riley, KS, in 1955.

"(11) The 1 ID was one of the first 2 combat divisions deployed to Vietnam in 1965. There it defended the vital Highway 13 corridor against enemy infiltration from Cambodia to the capital at Saigon. It fought gallantly in Operation Junction City, the largest operation of the war, in 1967; and in all 3 waves of the Tet Offensive in 1968.

"(12) Twelve division soldiers received the Medal of Honor in Vietnam.

"(13) The 1 ID deterred Soviet aggression against NATO Europe from 1970 to 1990 with a brigade in Germany and the rest of the division deploying there annually from Fort Riley in REFORGER exercises that demonstrated United States capability and resolve until the Cold War ended.

"(14) The 1 ID deployed to Saudi Arabia in 1991 in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. It attacked to breach the Iraqi defenses, raced across the desert with the United States VIIth Corps, destroying the Iraqi Republican Guard Tawakalna Division.

"(15) The 1 ID enforced international peace agreements in Bosnia for 31 months between 1996 and 2000; for 4 months in Macedonia (FYROM) in 1999; and for 22 months in Kosovo between 1999 and 2003.

"(16) The 1 ID deployed to Iraq in 2004 to 2005 in OIF II, the initial occupation of Iraq, and helped achieve the first free and fair elections in the history of Iraq. Its brigade combat teams and other elements deployed multiple times to Iraq and Afghanistan between 2003 and 2014.

"(17) The 1 ID provided the first "regionally aligned force" (RAF) to the United States Africa Command and provided military assistance to friendly governments across the continent of Africa.

"(18) To combat the growing ISIS threat, 1 ID soldiers have deployed to Iraq and Kuwait to assist the Iraqi Security Forces and other friendly countries in that vital and unstable region.

"(19) The 1 ID will be deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Korea in 2016 and 2017, its centennial year.

"(20) Thirty-six soldiers have been decorated with the Medal of Honor, and countless others have distinguished themselves in combat.

"(21) The 1st Infantry Division has earned several unit decorations, including 2 Meritorious Unit Commendations, 3 French Croix de Guerre, 1 Belgian Fourragere, Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm, 1 Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal, and was cited twice in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army.

"(22) The 1st Infantry Division has served the United States with great valor and distinction since its organization, living up to its motto, "No mission too difficult, no sacrifice too great--Duty First"."

The bill did not include specific coin design requirements, it featured just the general requirement of being "emblematic of the 100 year anniversary of the 1st Infantry Division." The final designs were to be selected by the Secretary of the Treasury in consultation with the Society of the 1st Infantry Division and the U.S. Army Center of Military History. The Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee was to serve in a design review role.

Each denomination was to be struck in Proof and Uncirculated versions, and issued during Calendar Year 2018. However, in a case of a convenient backdating, the coins were to bear the date "2017".

The Issue Price of the coins was to include a surcharge:

- $35 per Gold Half Eagle
- $10 per Silver Dollar
- $5 per Clad Half Dollar

Collected surcharges were to be paid to "the Society of the 1st Infantry Division for renovation of the existing 1st Infantry Division Memorial located in the District of Columbia."

1st Infantry Division Memorial/Monument

(Image Credit: National Park Service.)

The House bill did not progress past its Committee referral, nor was it considered independently by the House.

To learn about the Senate's First Duty coin proposal, see What If? 2018 Duty First / Senate


For more of my stories about commemorative coins and medals, including other What If? stories, see: Commems Collection.


To learn more about the 1st Infantry Division Monument's History, see:

- First Division Monument History