Puerto Rican Pistol: 65th Infantry Regiment (The Borinqueneers) United States Army

The 65th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed "The Borinqueneers" (a combination of Borinquén and Buccaneer), was an all-volunteer Puerto Rican regiment of the United States Army. Its motto was Honor et Fidelitas, Latin for Honor and Fidelity. It participated in World War I (actually having the distinction of firing the the first shot of that war) , World War II, the Korean War; and as the combined battalion with the 92nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, PRARNG, in the War against Terrorism and Operations Iraqi Freedom/Enduring Freedom. "Puerto Ricans have participated in every major American military conflict, from the American Revolution, when volunteers from Puerto Rico, Cuba and Mexico fought the British in 1779 under the command of General Bernardo de Gálvez (1746 -1786), to the present-day conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan." Wikipedia

The regiment first became the "The Porto (Puerto) Rico Regiment" in 1898 and served in World War I. It also saw active duty in World War II but it was it's involvement in the Korean War which brought about most of it's casualties and even a mass court martial of nearly one hundred of it's soldiers. This disgrace was later cleared up and all those involved were pardoned by the then Secretary of Army Robert Stevens but I am getting ahead of myself; let me tell you of the early formation of this most remarkable battalion first.

When it was first commissioned by the U.S. Congress, through The Army Appropriation Bill on March 2, 1889; it was to consist of native Puerto Rican infantry men and "continental" officers. The term "continental" meant men that were from the continental United States, non-natives and therefore non-spanish speaking officers. On June 30, 1901, the "Porto (Puerto) Rico Provisional Regiment of Infantry" was organized and with it the foundation of complications which let to its tragic casualties in Korea and subsequent reassignment to the 92 Infantry Brigade fifty-five years later.

Puerto Ricans of the 65th Infantry were subjected to segregation and discrimination because they were considered of a mixed race by their superiors. An Act of Congress, approved on May 27, 1908, reorganized the regiment as part of the "regular" Army. Since the native Puerto Rican officers where Puerto Rican citizens and not U.S. citizens, they were required to under go a new physical examination to determine their fitness for the commissions in the Regular Army and to take an oath of U.S. citizenship with their new officers oath. This new physical examination was in addition to any regular training taken by any other "continental" officer. And to require a U.S. citizenship oath, at a time when U.S. citizenship was still not granted to us, was literally forcing the recruit to give up his native citizenship.

Confidence in these new recruits; even after being put to use in the Panama Zone during World War I & II and successful campaigns in Naples-Fogis, Central Europe and the Battle of Rhineland, was not very high. So an exercise (OPERATION PORTEX) was conceived whereas Vieques would be defended by the 65th Infantry Regiment against the combined forces of the Army, Marines, Navy, and Air Force. The liberators (American Forces) consisted of 32,600 combat troops from the 82nd Airborne Division's 504th Airborne Infantry Regiment and Marine Corps, who received support from the Navy and Air Force. Despite the large number of troops deployed, the 65th Infantry (the aggressor) was able to halt the offensive forces on the beaches of the island. Colonel Willliam W Harris, the commanding officer of the 65th, stated:

"Stopping the assault forces at the water's edge proved that the Puerto Ricans could hold their own against the best-trained soldiers that the United States Army could put into the field." Wikipedia

The success of Operation PORTEX propelled the Army to deploy the 65th Infantry Regiment to Korea.

The Boriqueneers were lethal in their encounters with the Koreans, and later the Chinese, who entered the war on the side of the Koreans. One of the first documented acts of bravery was when the U.S. Marines withdrew from the Chosin Reservoir and were surrounded by the Chinese close to the Manchurian Border, it was the 65th Infantry that went in to help them get out and kept the rear guarded enabling the Marines to escape to safety. This encounter and others like it at Outpost Kelly and Jackson Heights, gave distinction and honor to many of the 65th Infantry.

As the war pressed on and the inability to communicate with their superiors continued, the 65th Infantry Regiment, suffers a great amount of casualties and a hundred and sixty-two are arrested for refusing to fight. Ninety-Five are court martial and Ninety-One are found guilty. The Army at first kept quiet over the affair but once information got out through soldier's letters to their families, the Army began secret negotiations with the government of Puerto Rico. That is where information on the mistreatments inflicted by the officers which included the denial of special rations of rice and beans, not being allowed to call themselves "Borinqueneers", ordered to shave of their mustaches (an important symbol of maleness), combat exhaustion and other humiliations, came to light and is believed have contributed to some men refusing to fight. Mind you, Puerto Ricans were not the only ones refusing to fight but were the only ones court martiaedl. That is where Secretary of the Army Robert Stevens moved quickly to remit the sentences and granted clemency and pardons to all those involved.

As a consequence of these court martials, the 65th Infantry Regiment was integrated and infused into the 92nd Infantry Brigade.

On February 12, 1951, the great General Douglas MacArthur was quoted in Tokyo saying the following:

"The Puerto Ricans forming the ranks of the gallant 65th Infantry on the battlefields of Korea... 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." Wikipedia

I sure am proud of finding information on these proud and hardy men who sacrificed their lives for me and mine. I thought it would be neat to show some of these brave men's hard fought for metals. Below are some of the medals earned by the Borinqueneers in Korea:

Individual awards in Korean War

Distinguished Service Cross 10