H.R. 6198

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6198 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6198

To express the sense of Congress regarding the naming of a naval vessel 
for Rear Admiral Alene Duerk, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

November 20, 2025

Ms. Kaptur (for herself and Mr. Latta) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To express the sense of Congress regarding the naming of a naval vessel 
for Rear Admiral Alene Duerk, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Rear Admiral Alene Duerk Ship 
Renaming Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING NAMING OF NAVAL VESSEL FOR REAR 
ADMIRAL ALENE DUERK.

(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
Secretary of the Navy should name a vessel of the United States Navy 
the ``U.S.S. Rear Admiral Alene Duerk'' in honor of Rear Admiral Alene 
Duerk, for the acts of valor described in subsection (b).
(b) Acts of Valor Described.--The acts of valor described in this 
subsection are the actions of Alene Duerk, as a member of the United 
States Navy, as follows:
(1) Following Rear Admiral Duerk's birth in Defiance, Ohio 
and graduation from Toledo Hospital School of Nursing, she 
received a commission on January 23, 1943, and was appointed as 
an ensign in the Nurse Corps of the U.S. Naval Reserve.
(2) During World War II, she was assigned as a Ward Nurse 
at the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Portsmouth, Virginia, 
and at the Naval Hospital, Bethesda Maryland where she cared 
for wounded members of the United States Armed Forces. In 1945, 
she was stationed on the USS Benevolence in the Pacific Theater 
(AH-13) where she treated casualties from Third Fleet 
operations until the end of the war.
(3) After the war, she progressed in rank and served in 
positions of increasing responsibility in both the Navy 
Reserves and Active Duty including posts in Michigan, Virginia, 
Pennsylvania, Illinois, the Philippines, Japan, California, and 
Washington, DC. Her dedication and inspirational service 
culminated with her historic selection for the rank of Rear 
Admiral on April 16, 1972, as the first woman to become a flag 
officer.
(4) Rear Admiral Duerk was awarded the Naval Reserve Medal, 
American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal 
with Bronze Star, the World War II Victory Medal, the Navy 
Occupation Service Medal, Asia Clasp, and the National Defense 
Service Medal with Bronze Star.
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