PUERTO RICO 65 INFANTRY REGIMENT
The 65th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed "The Borinqueneers", 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, World War II, and the Korean War. In 1956, the 65th Infantry was deactivated and became the only unit ever to be transferred from an active Army component to the Puerto Rico National Guard. The 1st Battalion, 65th Infantry Regiment (1-65th Infantry) was assigned to the 92nd Infantry Brigade (now the 92d Infantry Brigade Combat Team), PRARNG along with its sister battalion, the 1-296th Infantry, and has served 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. The 65th Infantry which was originally activated as the "Porto Rico Regiment" in 1898, served in World War I, and fired the first shot of World War I on behalf of the United States. It was involved in active combat during World War II. However, it was during the Korean War that the unit suffered the most casualties. Among the problems that they faced were the difference in languages (the common foot soldier spoke only Spanish, while the commanding officers were mostly English-speaking Americans) and the harsh, cold climate.
Puerto Rico Regiment of Infantry.
Puerto Rico became a U.S. Territory after the 1898 Treaty of Paris which ended the Spanish-American War. The United States appointed a military governor and soon the United States Army established itself in San Juan. The Army Appropriation Bill created by an Act of Congress on March 2, 1889 authorized the creation of the first body of native troops in Puerto Rico. On June 30, 1901, the "Porto Rico Provisional Regiment of Infantry" was organized. On July 1, 1901, the United States Senate passed a Bill which would require a strict mental and physical examination for those who wanted to join the Regiment. It also approved the recruitment of native Puerto Rican civilians to be appointed the grade of second lieutenants for a term of four years if they passed the required tests. 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 citizens of the United States, they were required to undergo a new physical examination to determine their fitness for commissions in the Regular Army and to take an oath of U.S. citizenship with their new officers oath. By January 30, 1917, The Porto Rico Regiment of Infantry was training in Camp Las Casas which was located in Santurce, a section of San Juan in what is now El Residencial Las Casas
World War I
First shot of World War I fired
Different units of the Regiment were stationed at other forts throughout the island. Lieutenant Teofilo Marxuach was stationed at El Morro Castle at San Juan Bay. Lt. Marxuach was the officer of the day at El Morro Castle on March 21, 1915. The Odenwald, built in 1903 (not to be confused with the German World War II war ship which carried the same name), was an armed German supply ship which tried to force its way out of the San Juan Bay and deliver supplies to the German submarines waiting in the Atlantic Ocean. Lt. Marxuach gave the order to open fire on the ship from the walls of the fort. Sergeant Encarnacion Correa then manned a machine gun and opened fire with little effect. Marxuach then ordered a cannon located at the Santa Rosa battery to fire a warning shot, forcing the Odenwald to stop and to return to port where its supplies were confiscated. The shots ordered by Lt. Marxuach were the first fired by the United States in World War I. The Odenwald was confiscated by the United States and renamed SS Newport. It was assigned to the U.S. Shipping Board, where it served until 1924 when it was retired.
On May 3, 1917, the Regiment recruited 1,969 men, considered at that time as war strength, and on May 14, 1917, the Regiment was sent to Panama in defense of the Panama Canal Zone. The Regiment returned to Puerto Rico on March 1919 and was renamed "The 65th Infantry Regiment" by the Reorganization Act of June 4, 1920. During this period a young Puerto Rican officer of the Regular Army, Major Luis R. Esteves, was sent to Camp Las Casas to serve as an instructor in the preparation of Puerto Rican Officers. Esteves in the future would become known as the "Father of the Puerto Rican National Guard".
World War II
In 1942, at the outbreak of World War II, the 65th Infantry underwent an extensive training program and in 1943, it was sent to Panama to protect the Pacific and the Atlantic sides of the Isthmus. On November 25, 1943, Colonel Antulio Segarra, proceeded Col. John R. Menclenhall as Commander of the 65th Infantry, thus becoming the first Puerto Rican Regular Army officer to command a Regular Army regiment. On January 1944, the Regiment was embarked for Jackson Barracks in New Orleans and later sent to Fort Eustis in Newport News, Virginia in preparation for overseas deployment to North Africa. After they arrived at Casablanca, they underwent further training. By April 29, 1944, the Regiment had landed in Italy and moved on to Corsica. On September 22, 1944, the 65th Infantry landed in France and was committed to action on the Maritime Alps at Peira Cava. On December 13, 1944, the 65th Infantry, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Juan Cesar Cordero Davila, relieved the 2nd Battalion of the 442nd Infantry Regiment, a Regiment which was made up of Japanese Americans under the command of Col. Virgil R. Miller, a native of San German, Puerto Rico. The 3rd Battalion defeated Germany's 34th Infantry Division's 107th Infantry Regiment. They suffered a total of forty seven battle casualties. The first two Puerto Ricans to be killed in action from the 65th Infantry were Pvt. Sergio Sanchez-Sanchez and Sgt. Angel Martinez, from the town of Sabana Grande. On March 18, 1945, the Regiment was sent to the District of Mannheim, Germany and assigned to Military Government activities, anti-sabotage and security missions. In all, the 65th Infantry participated in the battles of Naples-Fogis, Rome-Arno, Central Europe and of the Rhineland. On October 27, 1945 the Regiment sailed from France arriving at Puerto Rico on November 9, 1945
Operation "PORTREX", prelude to the Korean War
The 65th Infantry Regiment distinguished themselves when the United States conducted a military exercise code named "Operation PORTEX", meaning Puerto Rico Exercise, on the island of Vieques on the eve of the Korean War. The objective was to see how the combined forces of the Army, Marines, Navy and Air Force would do as liberators of an enemy captured territory (Vieques) against the aggressors. The core of the aggressor ground forces were made up of Hispanic soldiers, most of which belonged to the 65th Infantry Regiment.
The liberators consisted of 32,600 combat troops from the 82nd Airborne Division's 504th Parachute 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 William 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"
The successful military maneuvers during PORTREX had prompted the Army’s leadership to deploy the 65th Infantry to Korea.
Korean War
On August 26, 1950, the 65th Infantry, with 6,000 officers and men organized into three infantry battalions, one artillery battalion and a tank company departed from Puerto Rico and arrived in Pusan, Korea on September 23, 1950. It was during the long sea voyage that the men nicknamed the 65th Infantry "Borinqueneers". The name is a combination of the words "Borinquen" (which was what the Tainos called the island before the arrival of the Spaniards) and "Buccaneers".
The men of the 65th, now attached to the Army's 3d Infantry Division, were among first infantrymen to meet the enemy on the battlefields of Korea. After November, 1950, they fought daily against units of the Chinese People's Liberation Army after the Chinese entered the war on the North Korean side. One of the hardships suffered by the Puerto Ricans was the lack of warm clothing during the cold and harsh winters. The enemy made many attempts to encircle the Regiment, but each time they failed because of the many casualties inflicted by the 65th. The 65th was part of a task force which enabled the U.S. Marines to withdraw from the Chosin Reservoir on December 1950. When the Marines were encircled by the Chinese Communist troops close to the Manchurian border they were ordered to retreat and they worked their way back to Hungnam. The men of the 65th were rushed to their defense and ordered to stay behind and fight the enemy. As a consequence, the Marines were able to return safely to their ships. The 65th held the rear guard and were the last unit to embark from Hungnam. The men of the 65th who participated in said action were awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal.
Soldiers of the 65th, North of the Han River, Korea, June 1951.
Among the battles and operations in which the 65th participated was Operation Killer in January 1951, becoming the first Regiment to cross the Han River in South Korea during the operation. On April 1951, the Regiment participated in the Uijonbu Corridor drives and on June 1951, the 65th was the third Regiment to cross the Han Ton River. The 65th was the Regiment which took and held Chorwon and they were also instrumental in breaking the Iron Triangle of Hill 717 on July 1951. On November 1951, the Regiment fought off an attack by two Regimental size enemy units, with success. Colonel Juan Cesar Cordero Davila was named commander of 65th Infantry on February 8, 1952, thus becoming one of the highest ranking ethnic officers in the Army.
Battles of Outpost Kelly and Jackson Height
On July 3, 1952, the Regiment defended the main line of resistance (MLR) for 47 days and saw action at Cognac, King and Queen with successful attacks on Chinese positions. On September 1952, the 65th Infantry was holding on to a hill known as "Outpost Kelly". Chinese Communist forces overran the hill in what became known as the Battle for Outpost Kelly. Twice the 65th Regiment was overwhelmed by Chinese artillery and driven off. On October the Regiment also saw action in the Chorwon Sector and on Iron Horse, Hill 391, whose lower part was called "Jackson Heights" in honor of Capt. George Jackson (see: Col. Carlos Betances Ramirez). Company "G" of the 65th fought a desperate battle to hold on to Hill 391, however the Chinese had penetrated their position and had them completely surrounded. They had to fight their way back to the MLR in the dark after they received the order to withdraw, otherwise they would have risked the possibility of being completely wiped out.
In June 1953, the 2nd Battalion conducted a series of successful raids on Hill 412 and in November the Regiment successfully counter-attacked enemy units in the Numsong Valley and held their positions until a cease-fire was reached
Mass Court Martial
Col. Cordero Davila was relieved of his command by Col. Chester B. DeGavre, a West Point graduate and a "continental," an officer from the mainland United States and the officer staff of the 65th was replaced with non-Hispanic officers. DeGavre, upset over the fact that "G" company did not hold on to Hill 391, ordered that the unit stop calling itself the "Borinqueneers", cut their special rations of rice and beans, ordered the men to shave off their mustaches and had one of them wear signs that read "I am a coward". It is believed that humiliation, combat exhaustion and the language barrier where factors that influenced some of the men of Company L in their refusal to continue to fight.
In December 1954, one hundred and sixty-two Puerto Ricans of the 65th Infantry were arrested. Ninety-five soldiers were court martialed and ninety-one were found guilty and sentenced to prison terms ranging from one to 18 years of hard labor. It was the largest mass court-martial of the Korean War. According to cultural historian Silvia Alvarez Curbelo, the government of Puerto Rico, caught in the middle of a potentially damaging affair that could jeopardize its political agenda, kept silent for nearly two months. Finally, the incidents were made known by a local newspaper alerted by several letters written by the imprisoned soldiers to their families. Secret negotiations between the U.S. and Puerto Rican governments, were made and the Secretary of the Army Robert Stevens moved quickly to remit the sentences and granted clemency and pardons to all those involved.
An Army report released in 2001 blamed the breakdown of the 65th on the following factors: a shortage of officers and noncommissioned officers, a rotation policy that removed combat-experienced leaders and soldiers, tactics that led to high casualties, an ammunition shortage, communication problems between largely white, English-speaking officers and Spanish-speaking Puerto Rican enlisted men, and declining morale. The report also found bias in the prosecution of the Puerto Ricans, citing instances of continental soldiers who were not charged after refusing to fight in similar circumstances, before and after Jackson Heights. Though the men who were court martialed were pardoned, there currently is a campaign for a formal exoneration.[
Aftermath
A total of 61,000 Puerto Ricans served in the military during the Korean War, most of them volunteers.[20] The 65th Infantry was awarded battle participation credits for the following nine campaigns: UN Defense-1950, UN Offense-1950, CCF Intervenntion-1950, First UN Counterattack Offensive-1951, UN and CCF Spring Offensive-1951, UN Summer-Fall Offensive-1951, 2nd Korean Winter 1951-52, Korean Summer-Fall-1952 and 3rd Korean Winter-1952-53. They are credited with the last battalion-sized bayonet assault in U.S. Army history.
According to El Nuevo Día newspaper, May 30, 2004 a total of 756 Puerto Ricans lost their lives in Korea, from all four branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. However, according to "All POW-MIA Korean War Casualties", the total amount of Puerto Rican casualties in the Korean War was 732, meaning that one in every forty-two casualties in the war was a Puerto Rican, however this total may vary slightly since some non-Puerto Ricans such as Captain James W. Conner were mistakenly included. Out of the 700 plus casualties suffered in the war a total of 121 men were listed as Missing in Action. The Battle of Outpost Kelly accounted for 73 of the men missing in action from the total of 121. Out of the 73 MIA's suffered by the regiment in the month of September 1952, 50 of them occurred on the same day, September 18. For a list of names of those who were declared MIA, see: List of Puerto Ricans Missing in Action in the Korean War. On February 12, 1951, 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."
The 65th Infantry returned to Puerto Rico and was deactivated in 1956. However, Brig. General Juan Cordero, Puerto Rico's Adjutant General, persuaded the Department of the Army to transfer the 65th Infantry from the regular Army to the Puerto Rico National Guard. This was the only unit ever transferred from active component Army to the National Guard.
Twenty-first century
The 65th Infantry Regiment's 1st Battalion, along with its sister battalion, the 1-296th Infantry, was transferred to the 92d Infantry Brigade, PRARNG (now the 92nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team). Both battalions have served in what the United States and its allies call the War against Terrorism and Operation Iraqi Freedom/Enduring Freedom.
In 2009, Charlie Company of the 1-65th Infantry Battalion, as the former regiment is now known, was deployed to the Horn of Africa and stationed at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, after completing 14 months of deployment in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Charlie Company carries the crew served weapons to protect the camp. It also operates the entry control checkpoints, protects U.S. and allied ships at the massive Djibouti Port, and guards the U.S. Embassy there. By mid 2009, the rest of the battalion deployed there in case a more larger combat maneuver element was needed to operate from the base. The area is considered as the most unstable part of Africa, and the Somalian border, whose pirates are terrorizing the seas, is less than 10 miles from Camp Lemonnier.
Major General
Juan Cesar Cordero Davila
Commanding officer of the 65th Infantry Regiment during the Korean War
Brigadier General
Antonio Rodriguez Balinas
First commander of the Office of the First U.S. Army Deputy Command (awarded two Silver Stars)
Colonel
Virgil R. Miller
The 422nd Regimental Combat Team Commander who led the rescue of the "Lost Battalion" during World War II
Colonel
Carlos Betances Ramirez
Only Puerto Rican officer to command an infantry battalion in the Korean War
Colonel
Antulio Segarra
First Puerto Rican Regular Army officer to command a Regular Army regiment
Lieutenant Colonel
Teófilo Marxuach
Ordered the first shot fired on behalf of the United States in World War I
Master Sergeant
Pedro Rodriguez
Awarded two Silver Stars in one week
Sergeant First Class
Agustin Ramos Calero
Among the most decorated (22 decorations) soldiers in the United States during World War II
Sergeant First Class
Modesto Cartagena
The most decorated Puerto Rican soldier in history
