113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1726 

AN ACT 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the 65th Infantry 

Regiment, known as the Borinqueneers. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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1 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

2 The Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) In 1898, the United States acquired Puerto 

4 Rico in the Treaty of Paris that ended the Spanish5 American War and, by the following year, Congress 

6 had authorized raising a unit of volunteer soldiers in 

7 the newly acquired territory. 

8 (2) In May 1917, two months after legislation 

9 granting United States citizenship to individuals 

10 born in Puerto Rico was signed into law, and one 

11 month after the United States entered World War I, 

12 the unit was transferred to the Panama Canal Zone 

13 in part because United States Army policy at the 

14 time restricted most segregated units to noncombat 

15 roles, even though the regiment could have contrib16 uted to the fighting effort. 

17 (3) In June 1920, the unit was re-designated as 

18 the ‘‘65th Infantry Regiment, United States Army’’, 

19 and served as the United States military’s last seg20 regated unit composed primarily of Hispanic sol21 diers. 

22 (4) In January 1943, 13 months after the at23 tack on Pearl Harbor that marked the entry of the 

24 United States into World War II, the Regiment 

25 again deployed to the Panama Canal Zone before de26 ploying overseas in the spring of 1944. 
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1 (5) Despite relatively limited combat service in 

2 World War II, the Regiment suffered casualties in 

3 the course of defending against enemy attacks, with 

4 individual soldiers earning one Distinguished Service 

5 Cross, two Silver Stars, two Bronze Stars and 90 

6 Purple Hearts. The Regiment received campaign 

7 participation credit for Rome-Arno, Rhineland, 

8 Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe. 

9 (6) Although an executive order issued by 

10 President Harry S. Truman in July 1948 declared 

11 it to be United States policy to ensure equality of 

12 treatment and opportunity for all persons in the 

13 armed services without respect to race or color, im14 plementation of this policy had yet to be fully real15 ized when armed conflict broke out on the Korean 

16 Peninsula in June 1950, and both African-American 

17 soldiers and Puerto Rican soldiers served in seg18 regated units. 

19 (7) Brigadier General William W. Harris, who 

20 served as the Regiment’s commander during the 

21 early stages of the Korean War, later recalled that 

22 he had initially been reluctant to take the position 

23 because of ‘‘prejudice’’ within the military and ‘‘the 

24 feeling of the officers and even the brass of the Pen25 tagon * * * that the Puerto Rican wouldn’t make 
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1 a good combat soldier * * * I know my contem2 poraries felt that way and, in all honesty, I must 

3 admit that at the time I had the same feeling * * 

4 * that the Puerto Rican was a rum and Coca-Cola 

5 soldier.’’. 

6 (8) One of the first opportunities the Regiment 

7 had to prove its combat worthiness arose on the eve 

8 of the Korean War during Operation PORTREX, 

9 one of the largest military exercises that had been 

10 conducted up until that point, where the Regiment 

11 distinguished itself by repelling an offensive con12 sisting of over 32,000 troops from the 82nd Air13 borne Division and the United States Marine Corps, 

14 supported by the Navy and Air Force, thereby dem15 onstrating that the Regiment could hold its own 

16 against some of the best-trained forces in the United 

17 States military. 

18 (9) In August 1950, with the United States 

19 Army’s situation in Korea deteriorating, the Depart20 ment of the Army’s headquarters decided to bolster 

21 the 3rd Infantry Division and, owing in part to the 

22 65th Infantry Regiment’s outstanding performance 

23 during Operation PORTREX, it was among the 

24 units selected for the combat assignment. The deci25 sion to send the Regiment to Korea and attach it to 
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1 the 3rd Infantry Division was a landmark change in 

2 the United States military’s racial and ethnic policy. 

3 (10) As the Regiment sailed to Asia in Sep4 tember 1950, members of the unit informally de5 cided to call themselves the ‘‘Borinqueneers’’, a term 

6 derived from the Taı ́no word for Puerto Rico mean7 ing ‘‘land of the brave lord’’. 

8 (11) The story of the 65th Infantry Regiment 

9 during the Korean War has been aptly described as 

10 ‘‘one of pride, courage, heartbreak, and redemp11 tion’’. 

12 (12) Fighting as a segregated unit from 1950 

13 to 1952, the Regiment participated in some of the 

14 fiercest battles of the war, and its toughness, cour15 age and loyalty earned the admiration of many who 

16 had previously harbored reservations about Puerto 

17 Rican soldiers based on lack of previous fighting ex18 perience and negative stereotypes, including Briga19 dier General Harris, whose experience eventually led 

20 him to regard the Regiment as ‘‘the best damn sol21 diers that I had ever seen’’. 

22 (13) After disembarking at Pusan, South Korea 

23 in September 1950, the Regiment blocked the escape 

24 routes of retreating North Korean units and over25 came pockets of resistance. The most significant bat-
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1 tle took place near Yongam-ni in October when the 

2 Regiment routed a force of 400 enemy troops. By 

3 the end of the month, the Regiment had taken 921 

4 prisoners while killing or wounding more than 600 

5 enemy soldiers. Its success led General Douglas 

6 MacArthur, Commander-in-Chief of the United Na7 tions Command in Korea, to observe that the Regi8 ment was ‘‘showing magnificent ability and courage 

9 in field operations’’. 

10 (14) The Regiment landed on the eastern coast 

11 of North Korea in early November 1950. In Decem12 ber 1950, following China’s intervention in the war, 

13 the Regiment engaged in a series of fierce battles to 

14 cover the rear guard of the 1st Marine Division dur15 ing the fighting retreat from the Chosin Reservoir to 

16 the enclave at Hungnam, North Korea, one of the 

17 greatest withdrawals in modern military history. 

18 (15) When General MacArthur ordered the 

19 evacuation of Hungnam in mid-December, the Regi20 ment was instrumental in securing the port, and was 

21 among the last units—if not the last unit—to depart 

22 the beachhead on Christmas Eve, suffering signifi23 cant casualties in the process. Under the Regiment’s 

24 protection, 105,000 troops and 100,000 refugees 
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1 were evacuated, along with 350,000 tons of supplies 

2 and 17,500 military vehicles. 

3 (16) The brutal winter conditions during the 

4 campaign presented significant hardships for sol5 diers in the Regiment, who lacked appropriate gear 

6 to fight in sub-zero temperatures. 

7 (17) Between January and March 1951, the 

8 Regiment participated in numerous operations to re9 cover and retain South Korean territory lost to the 

10 enemy, assaulting heavily fortified enemy positions 

11 and conducting the last recorded battalion-sized bay12 onet assault in United States Army history. 

13 (18) On January 31, 1951, the commander of 

14 Eighth Army, Lieutenant General Matthew B. 

15 Ridgway, wrote to the Regiment’s commander: 

16 ‘‘What I saw and heard of your regiment reflects 

17 great credit on you, your regiment, and the people 

18 of Puerto Rico, who can be proud of their valiant 

19 sons. I am confident that their battle records and 

20 training levels will win them high honors * * *. 

21 Their conduct in battle has served only to increase 

22 the high regard in which I hold these fine troops.’’. 

23 (19) On February 3, 1951, General MacArthur 

24 wrote: ‘‘The Puerto Ricans forming the ranks of the 

25 gallant 65th Infantry on the battlefields of Korea by 
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1 valor, determination, and a resolute will to victory 

2 give daily testament to their invincible loyalty to the 

3 United States and the fervor of their devotion to 

4 those immutable standards of human relations to 

5 which the Americans and Puerto Ricans are in com6 mon dedicated. They are writing a brilliant record of 

7 achievement in battle and I am proud indeed to have 

8 them in this command. I wish that we might have 

9 many more like them.’’. 

10 (20) The Regiment played a central role in the 

11 United States military’s counteroffensive responding 

12 to a major push by the Chinese Communist Forces 

13 (CFF) in 1951, winning praise for its superb per14 formance in multiple battles, including Operations 

15 KILLER and RIPPER, as well as for its actions on 

16 February 14th, when the Regiment inflicted nearly 

17 1,000 enemy casualties at a cost of only one killed 

18 and six wounded, almost singlehandedly annihilating 

19 a North Korean infantry regiment that had infil20 trated the defenses of the 3rd Infantry Division’s 

21 headquarters. 

22 (21) By 1952, senior United States com23 manders ordered that replacement soldiers from 

24 Puerto Rico would no longer be limited to service in 

25 the Regiment, but could be made available to fill 
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1 personnel shortages in non-segregated units both in2 side and outside the 3rd Infantry Division. This was 

3 a major milestone in United States Army policy 

4 that, paradoxically, harmed the Regiment by depriv5 ing it of some of Puerto Rico’s most able soldiers. 

6 (22) Beyond the many hardships endured by 

7 most American soldiers in Korea, the Regiment 

8 faced unique challenges arising from discrimination 

9 and prejudice. 

10 (23) In 1953, the now fully integrated Regi11 ment earned admiration for its relentless defense of 

12 Outpost Harry, during which it confronted multiple 

13 company-size probes, full-scale regimental attacks, 

14 and heavy artillery and mortar fire from Chinese 

15 forces, earning one Distinguished Service Cross, 14 

16 Silver Stars, 23 Bronze Stars, and 67 Purple 

17 Hearts, in operations that Major General Eugene W. 

18 Ridings described as ‘‘highly successful in that the 

19 enemy was denied the use of one of his best routes 

20 of approach into the friendly position’’. The recipient 

21 of the Distinguished Service Cross was then-First 

22 Lieutenant Richard E. Cavazos, a Mexican-Amer23 ican, who went on to become the first Latino to rise 

24 to the rank of four-star general in the United States 

25 Army. 
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1 (24) For its extraordinary service during the 

2 Korean War, the Regiment received two Presidential 

3 Unit Citations (Army and Navy), two Republic of 

4 Korea Presidential Unit Citations, a Meritorious 

5 Unit Commendation (Army), a Navy Unit Com6 mendation, the Bravery Gold Medal of Greece, and 

7 campaign participation credits for United Nations 

8 Offensive, CCF Intervention, First United Nations 

9 Counteroffensive, CCF Spring Offensive, United Na10 tions Summer-Fall Offensive, Second Korean Win11 ter, Korea Summer-Fall 1952, Third Korean Win12 ter, and Korea Summer 1953. 

13 (25) In Korea, soldiers in the Regiment earned 

14 a total of nine Distinguished Service Crosses, ap15 proximately 250 Silver Stars, over 600 Bronze 

16 Stars, more than 2,700 Purple Hearts. On March 

17 18, 2014, Master Sergeant Juan E. Negro ́n 

18 Martı ́nez received the Medal of Honor, the Nation’s 

19 highest award for military valor, for actions taken 

20 on April 28, 1951 near Kalma-Eri, Korea. 

21 (26) In all, some 61,000 Puerto Ricans served 

22 in the United States Army during the Korean War, 

23 the bulk of them with the 65th Infantry Regiment— 

24 and over the course of the war, Puerto Rican sol-
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1 diers suffered a disproportionately high casualty 

2 rate, with over 740 killed and over 2,300 wounded. 

3 (27) In April 1956, as part of the reduction in 

4 forces following the Korean War, the 65th Infantry 

5 Regiment was deactivated from the regular Army 

6 and, in February 1959, became the only regular 

7 Army unit to have ever been transferred to the Na8 tional Guard, when its 1st battalion and its regi9 mental number were assigned to the Puerto Rico 

10 National Guard, where it has remained ever since. 

11 (28) In 1982, the United States Army Center 

12 of Military History officially authorized granting the 

13 65th Infantry Regiment the special designation of 

14 ‘‘Borinqueneers’’. 

15 (29) In the years since the Korean War, the 

16 achievements of the Regiment have been recognized 

17 in various ways, including— 

18 (A) the naming of streets in honor of the 

19 Regiment in San Juan, Puerto Rico and The 

20 Bronx, New York; 

21 (B) the erecting of monuments and 

22 plaques to honor the Regiment at Arlington Na23 tional Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia; the San 

24 Juan National Historic Site in San Juan, Puer25 to Rico; Fort Logan National Cemetery in Den-
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1 ver, Colorado; and at sites in Boston, Massa2 chusetts; Worcester, Massachusetts; Buffalo, 

3 New York; and Ocala, Florida; 

4 (C) the renaming of a park in 

5 Buenaventura Lake, Florida as the ‘‘65th In6 fantry Veterans Park’’; 

7 (D) the dedication of land for a park and 

8 monument to honor the Regiment in New Brit9 ain, Connecticut; 

10 (E) the adoption or introduction of resolu11 tions or proclamations honoring the Regiment 

12 by many state and municipal governments, in13 cluding in the states and territories of Cali14 fornia, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, 

15 Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jer16 sey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsyl17 vania, Puerto Rico, and Texas; and 

18 (F) the issuance by the United States 

19 Postal Service of a Korean War commemorative 

20 stamp depicting soldiers from the Regiment. 

21 (30) In a speech delivered on September 20, 

22 2000, at a ceremony in Arlington National Cemetery 

23 in honor of the Regiment, Secretary of the Army 

24 Louis Caldera said: ‘‘Even as the 65th struggled 

25 against all deadly enemies in the field, they were 
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1 fighting a rearguard action against a more insidious 

2 adversary—the cumulative effects of ill-conceived 

3 military policies, leadership shortcomings, and espe4 cially racial and organizational prejudices, all exacer5 bated by America’s unpreparedness for war and the 

6 growing pains of an Army forced by law and cir7 cumstance to carry out racial integration. Together 

8 these factors would take their inevitable toll on the 

9 65th, leaving scars that have yet to heal for so many 

10 of the Regiment’s proud and courageous soldiers.’’. 

11 (31) Secretary Caldera further stated: ‘‘To the 

12 veterans of the 65th Infantry Regiment who, in that 

13 far off land fifty years ago, fought with rare courage 

14 even as you endured misfortune and injustice, thank 

15 you for doing your duty. There can be no greater 

16 praise than that for any soldier of the United States 

17 Army.’’. 

18 (32) Secretary Caldera also noted that ‘‘[t]he 

19 men of the 65th who served in Korea are a signifi20 cant part of a proud tradition of service’’ that in21 cludes the Japanese American 442nd Regimental 

22 Combat Team, the African American Tuskegee Air23 men, and ‘‘many other unsung minority units 

24 throughout the history of our armed forces whose 

25 stories have never been fully told’’. 
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1 (33) The service of the men of the 65th Infan2 try Regiment is emblematic of the contributions to 

3 the armed forces that have been made by hundreds 

4 of thousands of brave and patriotic United States 

5 citizens from Puerto Rico over generations, from 

6 World War I to the most recent conflicts in Afghani7 stan and Iraq, and in other overseas contingency op8 erations. 

9 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

10 (a) AWARD AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of the 

11 House of Representatives and the President pro tempore 

12 of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the 

13 award, on behalf of the Congress, of a single gold medal 

14 of appropriate design in honor of the 65th Infantry Regi15 ment, known as the Borinqueneers, in recognition of its 

16 pioneering military service, devotion to duty, and many 

17 acts of valor in the face of adversity. 

18 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purposes of the 

19 award referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the 

20 Treasury (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Sec21 retary’’) shall strike the gold medal with suitable emblems, 

22 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec23 retary. 

24 (c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the 

2 gold medal in honor of the 65th Infantry Regiment, 

3 known as the Borinqueneers, the gold medal shall be 

4 given to the Smithsonian Institution, where it shall 

5 be available for display as appropriate and made 

6 available for research. 

7 (2) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense 

8 of the Congress that the Smithsonian Institution 

9 shall make the gold medal received under this Act 

10 available for display elsewhere, particularly at other 

11 appropriate locations associated with the 65th Infan12 try Regiment, including locations in Puerto Rico. 

13 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

14 Under such regulations as the Secretary may pre15 scribe, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

16 bronze of the gold medal struck under section 2, at a price 

17 sufficient to cover the costs of the medals, including labor, 

18 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 
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1 SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS. 

2 Medals struck pursuant to this Act are national med3 als for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States 

4 Code. 

Passed the House of Representatives May 19, 2014. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1726 

AN ACT 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the 65th 

Infantry Regiment, known as the Borinqueneers.