H.R. 1726 — what changed

changed In May 1917, two months after legislation granting United States citizenship to individuals born in Puerto Rico was signed into law, and one month after the United States entered World War I, the unit was transferred to the Panama Canal Zone in part because United States Army policy at the time restricted most segregated units to noncombat roles, although even though the regiment could have contributed to the fighting effort.

changed In June 1920, the unit was re-designated as the 65th “65th Infantry Regiment, United States Army, Army”, and it would serve served as the United States military’s last segregated unit composed primarily of Hispanic soldiers.

changed In January 1943, 13 months after the attack on Pearl Harbor that marked the entry of the United States into World War II, the Regiment again deployed to the Panama Canal Zone, Zone before deploying overseas in the spring of 1944.

changed Despite the Regiment’s relatively limited combat service in World War II, the unit Regiment suffered casualties in the course of defending against enemy attacks, with individual soldiers earning one Distinguished Service Cross, two Silver Stars, two Bronze Stars and 90 Purple Hearts, and the unit receiving Hearts. The Regiment received campaign participation credit for Rome-Arno, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe.

changed Although an executive order issued by President Harry S. Truman in July 1948 declared it to be United States policy to ensure equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without respect to race or color, implementation of this policy had yet to be fully realized when armed conflict broke out on the Korean peninsula Peninsula in June 1950, and both African-American soldiers and Puerto Rican soldiers served in segregated units.

changed Brigadier General William W. Harris, who served as the Regiment’s commander during the early stages of the Korean War, later recalled that he had initially been reluctant to take the position because of prejudice “prejudice” within the military and “the feeling of the officers and even the brass of the Pentagon . . . * * * that the Puerto Rican wouldn’t make a good combat soldier. . . . soldier * * * I know my contemporaries felt that way and, in all honesty, I must admit that at the time I had the same feeling . . . * * * that the Puerto Rican was a rum and Coca-Cola soldier.”.

changed One of the first opportunities the regiment Regiment had to prove its combat worthiness arose on the eve of the Korean War during Operation PORTREX, one of the largest military exercises that had been conducted up until that point, where the Regiment distinguished itself by repelling an offensive consisting of over 32,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division and the United States Marine Corps, supported by the Navy and Air Force, thereby demonstrating that Puerto Rican soldiers the Regiment could hold their its own against some of the best-trained soldiers forces in the United States military.

changed In August 1950, as with the United States Army’s situation in Korea deteriorated, deteriorating, the commander Department of the Army’s headquarters decided to bolster the 3rd Infantry Division requested another infantry regiment to be added to his organization and, owing in large part to the 65th Infantry Regiment’s outstanding performance during PORT­REX, Operation PORTREX, it was among the units selected for the assignment.combat assignment. The decision to send the Regiment to Korea and attach it to the 3rd Infantry Division was a landmark change in the United States military’s racial and ethnic policy.

changed As the Regiment sailed to Asia in September 1950, members of the unit informally decided to call themselves the Borinqueneers, “Borinqueneers”, a term derived from the Taino Taíno word for Puerto Rico meaning land “land of the brave lord.lord”.

changed Fighting as a segregated unit from 1950 to 1952, the Regiment participated in some of the fiercest battles of the war, and its toughness, courage and loyalty earned the admiration of many who had previously harbored reservations about Puerto Rican soldiers based on lack of previous fighting experience and negative stereotypes, including Brigadier General William W. Harris, whose experience eventually led him to regard the Regiment as “the best damn soldiers that I had ever seen”.

changed Arriving in After disembarking at Pusan, South Korea in September 1950, the regiment was assigned Regiment blocked the mission of destroying or capturing small groups escape routes of retreating North Korean soldiers, units and its overcame pockets of resistance. The most significant battle took place near Yongam-ni in October when the Regiment routed a force of 400 enemy troops. By the end of the month, the Regiment had taken 921 prisoners while killing or wounding more than 600 enemy soldiers. Its success led General Douglas MacArthur, Commander-in-Chief of the United Nations Command in Korea, to observe that the Regiment was “showing magnificent ability and courage in field operations”.

changed The Regiment landed on the eastern coast of North Korea in early November 1950. In December 1950, following China’s intervention in the war, the Regiment engaged in a series of fierce battles with the enemy to cover the rear guard of the 1st Marine Division as it executed during the fighting retreat from the Chosin Reservoir to the enclave at Hungnam, North Korea, one of the greatest withdrawals in modern military history during the fighting retreat from the Chosin Reservoir.history.

changed The When General MacArthur ordered the evacuation of Hungnam in mid-December, the Regiment was instrumental in helping to secure the final foothold for securing the Marine evacuation at Hungham, port, and was among the last units to leave units—if not the last unit—to depart the beachhead on Christmas Eve, suffering tremendous significant casualties in the process.process. Under the Regiment’s protection, 105,000 troops and 100,000 refugees were evacuated, along with 350,000 tons of supplies and 17,500 military vehicles.

changed The brutal winter conditions in Korea during the campaign presented significant hardships for soldiers in the Regiment, which suffered hundreds of casualties because its soldiers who lacked appropriate gear to fight in sub-zero temperatures.

changed On January 31, 1951, the commander of Eighth Army, Lieutenant General Matthew B. Ridgway Ridgway, wrote to the Regiment’s commander: “What I saw and heard of your regiment reflects great credit on you, your regiment, and the people of Puerto Rico, who can be proud of their valiant sons. I am confident that their battle records and training levels will win them high honors. . . . honors * * *. Their conduct in battle has served only to increase the high regard in which I hold these fine troops.”troops.”.

changed On February 3, 1951, General MacArthur wrote: “The Puerto Ricans forming the ranks of the gallant 65th Infantry on the battlefields of Korea by valor, determination, and a resolute will to victory give daily testament to their invincible loyalty to the United States and the fervor of their devotion to those immutable standards of human relations to which the Americans and Puerto Ricans are in common dedicated. They are writing a brilliant record of achievement in battle and I am proud indeed to have them in this command. I wish that we might have many more like them.”them.”.

changed The Regiment played a critical central role in the United States military’s counteroffensive responding to a major push by the Chinese Communist Forces (CFF) in 1951, winning praise for its superb performance in multiple battles, including Operations KILLER and RIPPER.RIPPER, as well as for its actions on February 14th, when the Regiment inflicted nearly 1,000 enemy casualties at a cost of only one killed and six wounded, almost singlehandedly annihilating a North Korean infantry regiment that had infiltrated the defenses of the 3rd Infantry Division’s headquarters.

changed By 1952, in light of the Regiment’s proven fighting abilities, senior United States commanders ordered that replacement soldiers from Puerto Rico should would no longer be limited to service in the Regiment, but could be made available to fill personnel shortages in non-segregated units both inside and outside the 3rd Infantry Division, Division. This was a major milestone in United States Army policy that, paradoxically, harmed the Regiment by depriving it of some of Puerto Rico’s most able soldiers.

changed Beyond the many hardships endured by most American soldiers in Korea, the Regiment faced unique challenges due to arising from discrimination and prejudice, including—prejudice.

changed In 1953, the now fully integrated Regiment earned admiration for its relentless defense of Outpost Harry, during which it confronted multiple company-size probes, full-scale regimental attacks, and heavy artillery and mortar fire from Chinese forces, earning one Distinguished Service Cross, 14 Silver Stars, 23 Bronze Stars, and 67 Purple Hearts, in operations that Major General Eugene W. Ridings described as “highly successful in that the enemy was denied the use of one of his best routes of approach into the friendly position.”.position”. The recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross was then-First Lieutenant Richard E. Cavazos, a Mexican-American, who went on to become the first Latino to rise to the rank of four-star general in the United States Army.

changed In Korea, soldiers in the Regiment earned a total of 10 nine Distinguished Service Crosses, approximately 250 Silver Stars, over 600 Bronze Stars, and more than 2,700 Purple Hearts, but—despite numerous individual acts of uncommon valor—no Medals Hearts. On March 18, 2014, Master Sergeant Juan E. Negrón Martínez received the Medal of Honor.Honor, the Nation’s highest award for military valor, for actions taken on April 28, 1951 near Kalma-Eri, Korea.

changed In April 1956, as part of the reduction in forces following the Korean War, the 65th Infantry Regiment was deactivated from the Regular regular Army and, in February 1959, became the only regular Army unit to have ever been transferred to the National Guard, when its 1st battalion and its regimental number were assigned to the Puerto Rico National Guard, where it has remained ever since.

changed In 1982, the United States Army Center of Military History officially authorized granting the 65th Infantry Regiment the special designation of Borinqueneers.“Borinqueneers”.

changed the naming of streets in honor of the regiment Regiment in San Juan, Puerto Rico and The Bronx, New York;

changed the erecting of plaques and other monuments and plaques to honor the Regiment at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia; the San Juan National Historic Site in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Ft. Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, Colorado; and at sites in Boston, Massachusetts Massachusetts; Worcester, Massachusetts; Buffalo, New York; and Ocala, Florida;

changed the renaming of a park in Bue­na­ven­tura Buenaventura Lake, Florida as the 65th “65th Infantry Veterans Park;Park”;

changed a grant awarded by the New York State government to establish dedication of land for a memorial honoring park and monument to honor the Regiment at Buffalo & Erie County Naval & Military Park in Buffalo, New York;Britain, Connecticut;

changed the introduction or adoption or introduction of resolutions or proclamations honoring the Regiment by the City of Buffalo, New York; the City of Deltona, Florida; the City of Kissimmee, Florida; the City of Orlando, Florida; the City of Springfield, Massachusetts; the County of Erie, Pennsylvania; many state and municipal governments, including in the Florida House states and territories of Representatives; the California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New York State Assembly; the Jersey, New York State Senate; York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, and the Texas State Senate; Texas; and

changed the 1985 issuance of a by the United States Postal Service of a Korean War Commemorative Stamp commemorative stamp depicting soldiers from the Regiment.

changed In a speech delivered at a on September 20, 2000, ceremony at a ceremony in Arlington National Cemetery in honor of the Regiment, Secretary of the Army Louis Caldera said: “Even as the 65th struggled against all deadly enemies in the field, they were fighting a rearguard action against a more insidious adversary—the cumulative effects of ill-conceived military policies, leadership shortcomings, and especially racial and organizational prejudices, all exacerbated by America’s unpreparedness for war and the growing pains of an Army forced by law and circumstance to carry out racial integration. Together these factors would take their inevitable toll on the 65th, leaving scars that have yet to heal for so many of the regiment’s Regiment’s proud and courageous soldiers.”.

changed Secretary Caldera said: further stated: “To the veterans of the 65th Infantry Regiment who, in that far off land fifty years ago, fought with rare courage even as you endured misfortune and injustice, thank you for doing your duty. There can be no greater praise than that for any soldier of the United States Army.”.

changed Secretary Caldera also noted that “[t]he men of the 65th who served in Korea are a significant part of a proud tradition of service” that includes the Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the African American Tuskegee Airmen, and “many other unsung minority units throughout the history of our armed forces whose stories have never been fully told.”.told”.

changed In general— Following the award of the gold medal in honor of the 65th Infantry Regimen, Regiment, known as the Borinqueneers, the gold medal shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where it will shall be displayed available for display as appropriate and made available for research.