[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1726 Received in Senate (RDS)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 1726
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 20, 2014
Received
_______________________________________________________________________
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.
Passed the House of Representatives May 19, 2014.
Attest:
KAREN L. HAAS,
Clerk.
By Robert F. Reeves,
Deputy Clerk.