[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1726 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.1726

                     One Hundred Thirteenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Friday,
           the third day of January, two thousand and fourteen


                                 An Act


 
To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the 65th Infantry Regiment, known 
                          as the Borinqueneers.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
    The Congress finds the following:
        (1) In 1898, the United States acquired Puerto Rico in the 
    Treaty of Paris that ended the Spanish-American War and, by the 
    following year, Congress had authorized raising a unit of volunteer 
    soldiers in the newly acquired territory.
        (2) 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, even though the regiment could 
    have contributed to the fighting effort.
        (3) In June 1920, the unit was re-designated as the ``65th 
    Infantry Regiment, United States Army'', and served as the United 
    States military's last segregated unit composed primarily of 
    Hispanic soldiers.
        (4) 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 before deploying 
    overseas in the spring of 1944.
        (5) Despite relatively limited combat service in World War II, 
    the 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. The Regiment received campaign participation credit for 
    Rome-Arno, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe.
        (6) 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 in June 1950, and both African-American 
    soldiers and Puerto Rican soldiers served in segregated units.
        (7) 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'' 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 * * * 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.''.
        (8) One of the first opportunities the 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 the Regiment could hold its own against some of 
    the best-trained forces in the United States military.
        (9) In August 1950, with the United States Army's situation in 
    Korea deteriorating, the Department of the Army's headquarters 
    decided to bolster the 3rd Infantry Division and, owing in part to 
    the 65th Infantry Regiment's outstanding performance during 
    Operation PORTREX, it was among the units selected for the 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.
        (10) As the Regiment sailed to Asia in September 1950, members 
    of the unit informally decided to call themselves the 
    ``Borinqueneers'', a term derived from the Taino word for Puerto 
    Rico meaning ``land of the brave lord''.
        (11) The story of the 65th Infantry Regiment during the Korean 
    War has been aptly described as ``one of pride, courage, 
    heartbreak, and redemption''.
        (12) 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 Harris, whose experience 
    eventually led him to regard the Regiment as ``the best damn 
    soldiers that I had ever seen''.
        (13) After disembarking at Pusan, South Korea in September 
    1950, the Regiment blocked the escape routes of retreating North 
    Korean units and 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''.
        (14) 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 to cover the rear guard of the 1st Marine 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, suffering significant casualties in 
    the 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.
        (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 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 * * *. 
    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 available 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.
        (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 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''. 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 Commendation, the Bravery 
    Gold Medal of Greece, and campaign participation credits for United 
    Nations Offensive, CCF Intervention, 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. Negron Martinez 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 casualty rate, with 
    over 740 killed and over 2,300 wounded.
        (27) In April 1956, as part of the reduction in forces 
    following the Korean War, the 65th Infantry Regiment was 
    deactivated 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 Regiment 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, 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 territories 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 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 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 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.''.
        (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 Airmen, 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 patriotic 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 Representatives 
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.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes of the award referred to 
in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereinafter 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 Smithsonian 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 Congress 
    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.