Remove the Stain Act
The Remove the Stain Act would rescind every Medal of Honor that was awarded for acts at Wounded Knee Creek on December 29, 1890. It directs the relevant military Secretaries to remove the names of those recipients from the official Medal of Honor rolls maintained by the services, and it clarifies that recipients are not required to return their medals and that this rescission does not affect any federal benefits. The bill frames the Wounded Knee events as a massacre of unarmed Native Americans and positions the rescission as a corrective act to preserve the integrity of the Medal of Honor, which is described as the highest U.S. military decoration. The measure is accompanied by legislative findings that emphasize this historical context and the symbolic significance of the medals in question.
Key Points
- 1Short title: The act may be cited as the “Remove the Stain Act.”
- 2Purpose: Rescind all Medals of Honor awarded for acts at Wounded Knee Creek on December 29, 1890.
- 3Rolls and records: Requires the Secretary concerned to remove the names of the affected individuals from the Medal of Honor rolls maintained by the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard (per 10 U.S.C. § 1134a).
- 4Medal handling and benefits: No requirement to return the rescinded medals, and the act does not deny any federal benefits to the individuals or their beneficiaries.
- 5Rationale and findings: The bill’s findings describe Wounded Knee as a massacre involving unarmed Native Americans, argue that awarding MOHs in connection with those events undermines the Medal’s integrity, and note prior tribal and Native-organized resolutions urging revocation or nullification of those medals.