Letter
Dear Mr. Peterson:
In its meeting of 19 May, the Commission of Fine Arts reviewed alternative designs for the Congressional Gold Medal honoring the World War II service of Japanese-Americans in the U.S. Army 100th Infantry Battalion, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and the Military Intelligence Service.
For the obverse, the Commission members recommended alternative #3, expressing support for the layered effect of the three groupings of soldiers as an effective composition for the relatively large scale of this medal; they recommended further study of the depiction of the stars on the background flag, while noting that the background should not distract from the portraits of the soldiers. For the reverse, the Commission members recommended alternative #3, which they said is the most legible composition of the multiple insignias representing the military units being honored. They also noted that the recommended pairing of obverse and reverse designs would result in sympathetic typeface and border treatments.
As always, the staff is available to assist you with future submissions.
Sincerely,
/s/Thomas E. Luebke, FAIA
Secretary
Richard A. Peterson, Acting Director
United States Mint
801 9th Street, NW, 8th Floor
Washington, DC 20220
cc: Kaarina Budow, U.S. Mint