H. R. 1726—3 
Division during the fighting retreat from the Chosin Reservoir 
to the enclave at Hungnam, North Korea, one of the greatest 
withdrawals in modern military history. 
(15) When General MacArthur ordered the evacuation of 
Hungnam in mid-December, the Regiment was instrumental 
in securing the port, and was among the last units—if not 
the last unit—to depart the beachhead on Christmas Eve, suf-
fering significant casualties in the process. Under the Regi-
ment’s protection, 105,000 troops and 100,000 refugees were 
evacuated, along with 350,000 tons of supplies and 17,500 
military vehicles. 
(16) The brutal winter conditions during the campaign 
presented significant hardships for soldiers in the Regiment, 
who lacked appropriate gear to fight in sub-zero temperatures. 
(17) Between January and March 1951, the Regiment 
participated in numerous operations to recover and retain South 
Korean territory lost to the enemy, assaulting heavily fortified 
enemy positions and conducting the last recorded battalion- 
sized bayonet assault in United States Army history. 
(18) On January 31, 1951, the commander of Eighth Army, 
Lieutenant General Matthew B. Ridgway, wrote to the Regi-
ment’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 * * *. Their conduct in battle has served 
only to increase the high regard in which I hold these fine 
troops.’’. 
(19) 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.’’. 
(20) The Regiment played a 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, 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. 
(21) By 1952, senior United States commanders ordered 
that replacement soldiers from Puerto Rico would no longer 
be limited to service in the Regiment, but could be made avail-
able to fill personnel shortages in non-segregated units both 
inside and outside the 3rd Infantry 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.
H. R. 1726—4 
(22) Beyond the many hardships endured by most American 
soldiers in Korea, the Regiment faced unique challenges arising 
from discrimination and prejudice. 
(23) 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 oper-
ations 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’’. 
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. 
(24) For its extraordinary service during the Korean War, 
the Regiment received two Presidential Unit Citations (Army 
and Navy), two Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citations, 
a Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army), a Navy Unit Com-
mendation, the Bravery Gold Medal of Greece, and campaign 
participation credits for United Nations Offensive, CCF Inter-
vention, First United Nations Counteroffensive, CCF Spring 
Offensive, United Nations Summer-Fall Offensive, Second 
Korean Winter, Korea Summer-Fall 1952, Third Korean Winter, 
and Korea Summer 1953. 
(25) In Korea, soldiers in the Regiment earned a total 
of nine Distinguished Service Crosses, approximately 250 Silver 
Stars, over 600 Bronze Stars, more than 2,700 Purple Hearts. 
On March 18, 2014, Master Sergeant Juan E. Negro´n Martı´nez 
received the Medal of Honor, the Nation’s highest award for 
military valor, for actions taken on April 28, 1951 near Kalma- 
Eri, Korea. 
(26) In all, some 61,000 Puerto Ricans served in the United 
States Army during the Korean War, the bulk of them with 
the 65th Infantry Regiment—and over the course of the war, 
Puerto Rican soldiers suffered a disproportionately high cas-
ualty rate, with over 740 killed and over 2,300 wounded. 
(27) In April 1956, as part of the reduction in forces fol-
lowing the Korean War, the 65th Infantry Regiment was deacti-
vated from the 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. 
(28) In 1982, the United States Army Center of Military 
History officially authorized granting the 65th Infantry Regi-
ment the special designation of ‘‘Borinqueneers’’. 
(29) In the years since the Korean War, the achievements 
of the Regiment have been recognized in various ways, 
including— 
(A) the naming of streets in honor of the Regiment 
in San Juan, Puerto Rico and The Bronx, New York; 
(B) the erecting of 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; Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver,
H. R. 1726—5 
Colorado; and at sites in Boston, Massachusetts; Worcester, 
Massachusetts; Buffalo, New York; and Ocala, Florida; 
(C) the renaming of a park in Buenaventura Lake, 
Florida as the ‘‘65th Infantry Veterans Park’’; 
(D) the dedication of land for a park and monument 
to honor the Regiment in New Britain, Connecticut; 
(E) the adoption or introduction of resolutions or 
proclamations honoring the Regiment by many state and 
municipal governments, including in the states and terri-
tories of California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, 
Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, 
North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, and 
Texas; and 
(F) the issuance by the United States Postal Service 
of a Korean War commemorative stamp depicting soldiers 
from the Regiment. 
(30) In a speech delivered on September 20, 2000, at a 
ceremony in Arlington National Cemetery in honor of the Regi-
ment, 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 poli-
cies, leadership shortcomings, and especially racial and 
organizational prejudices, all exacerbated by America’s unpre-
paredness 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 proud and courageous soldiers.’’. 
(31) Secretary Caldera 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 misfor-
tune and injustice, thank you for doing your duty. There can 
be no greater praise than that for any soldier of the United 
States Army.’’. 
(32) 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 Air-
men, and ‘‘many other unsung minority units throughout the 
history of our armed forces whose stories have never been 
fully told’’. 
(33) The service of the men of the 65th Infantry Regiment 
is emblematic of the contributions to the armed forces that 
have been made by hundreds of thousands of brave and patri-
otic United States citizens from Puerto Rico over generations, 
from World War I to the most recent conflicts in Afghanistan 
and Iraq, and in other overseas contingency operations. 
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 
(a) AWARD AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall 
make appropriate arrangements for the award, on behalf of the 
Congress, of a single gold medal of appropriate design in honor 
of the 65th Infantry Regiment, known as the Borinqueneers, in 
recognition of its pioneering military service, devotion to duty, and 
many acts of valor in the face of adversity.
H. R. 1726—6 
(b) DESIGN
AND STRIKING.—For the purposes of the award 
referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (herein-
after in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike the 
gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to 
be determined by the Secretary. 
(c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the gold medal 
in honor of the 65th Infantry Regiment, known as the 
Borinqueneers, the gold medal shall be given to the Smithso-
nian Institution, where it shall be available for display as 
appropriate and made available for research. 
(2) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the Con-
gress that the Smithsonian Institution shall make the gold 
medal received under this Act available for display elsewhere, 
particularly at other appropriate locations associated with the 
65th Infantry Regiment, including locations in Puerto Rico. 
SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 
Under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, the 
Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold 
medal struck under section 2, at a price sufficient to cover the 
costs of the medals, including labor, materials, dies, use of 
machinery, and overhead expenses. 
SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS. 
Medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals for 
purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code. 
Speaker of the House of Representatives. 
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.