Letter
Dear Mr. Ryder:
In its meeting of 19 September, the Commission of Fine Arts reviewed alternative designs for a Congressional Gold Medal honoring Chinese-American veterans of World War II. The Commission members present provided the following comments and recommendation.
Consistent with the preferences of the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee and representatives of the veterans, the Commission members recommended obverse alternative #7 and reverse alternative #6. They cited obverse #7 for its emphasis on people rather than military equipment, while suggesting that the facial expressions be adjusted to reflect the gravity of military service. They supported the presented refinement of adding a border to reverse #6 and related adjustments to the obverse and reverse text. For reverse #6, they observed that the background of the American flag gives the awkward impression that the military tank is driving over the flag’s stripes; they therefore recommended studying the details of this lower part of the composition.
As a quorum was not present for the review of this submission, this recommendation will be placed on the administrative agenda for confirmation at the Commission’s meeting of 17 October. As always, the staff is available to assist you with future submissions.
Sincerely,
/s/Thomas E. Luebke, FAIA
Secretary
David Ryder, Director
United States Mint
801 9th Street, NW, 8th Floor
Washington, DC 20220