Congress honors Afghan evacuation heroes with gold medal
H.R. 4521 — Save our Allies Congressional Gold Medal Act · Filed by Ralph Norman (R-SC) · 4 cosponsors · Introduced Jul 17, 2025 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill authorizes Congress to award a single gold medal to seven individuals—Chad Robichaux, Sarah Verardo, and five Special Operations veterans (Tim Kennedy, Kevin Roarke, Sean Gabler, Dave Johnson, and Dennis Price)—for their extraordinary humanitarian efforts rescuing over 17,000 Afghan civilians and allies during the chaotic 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. The medal will be designed by the Secretary of the Treasury, displayed at the Smithsonian Institution, and the U.S. Mint is authorized to strike and sell bronze duplicates to recover costs.
Why we flagged it
This is a straightforward commemorative bill authorizing a single gold medal to honor seven individuals (Chad Robichaux, Sarah Verardo, and five Special Operations veterans) for their humanitarian rescue efforts during the 2021 Afghanistan evacuation. The bill contains standard provisions for medal design, Smithsonian display, and bronze duplicate sales.
Who stands to gain
US Mint (operational cost recovery)