[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1174 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1174

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 18, 2013

Mr. Blumenthal (for himself, Mr. Chambliss, Ms. Warren, Mr. Rubio, Mr. 
   Nelson, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Schumer, and Mr. Casey) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                  Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  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 because United States Army policy at the time 
        restricted most segregated units to noncombat roles, although 
        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 it would serve as 
        the United States military's last segregated unit composed 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 the Regiment's relatively limited combat 
        service in World War II, the unit 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, and the unit 
        receiving 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 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 Puerto Rican soldiers could 
        hold their own against some of the best-trained soldiers in the 
        United States military.
            (9) In August 1950, as the United States Army's situation 
        in Korea deteriorated, the commander of the 3rd Infantry 
        Division requested another infantry regiment to be added to his 
        organization and, owing in large part to the 65th Infantry 
        Regiment's outstanding performance during PORTREX, it was 
        selected for the assignment.
            (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 negative stereotypes, 
        including Brigadier General William W. Harris, whose experience 
        eventually led him to regard the Regiment as ``the best damn 
        soldiers that I had ever seen''.
            (13) Arriving in Pusan, South Korea in September 1950, the 
        regiment was assigned the mission of destroying or capturing 
        small groups of North Korean soldiers, and 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) In December 1950, following China's intervention in 
        the war, the Regiment engaged in a series of fierce battles 
        with the enemy to cover the rear guard of the 1st Marine 
        Division as it executed one of the greatest withdrawals in 
        modern military history during the fighting retreat from the 
        Chosin Reservoir.
            (15) The Regiment was instrumental in helping to secure the 
        final foothold for the Marine evacuation at Hungham, and was 
        among the last units to leave the beachhead on Christmas Eve, 
        suffering tremendous casualties in the process.
            (16) The winter conditions in Korea presented significant 
        hardships for the Regiment, which suffered hundreds of 
        casualties because its soldiers 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 critical role in the United 
        States 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.
            (21) By 1952, in light of the Regiment's proven fighting 
        abilities, senior United States commanders ordered that 
        replacement soldiers from Puerto Rico should 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, a major milestone 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 due to 
        discrimination and prejudice, including--
                    (A) the humiliation of being ordered to shave their 
                moustaches ``until such a time as they gave proof of 
                their manhood'';
                    (B) being forced to use separate showering 
                facilities from their non-Hispanic ``Continental'' 
                officers;
                    (C) being ordered not to speak Spanish under 
                penalty of court-martial;
                    (D) flawed personnel-rotation policies based on 
                ethnic and organizational prejudices; and
                    (E) a catastrophic shortage of trained 
                noncommissioned officers.
            (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 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.''.
            (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 
        10 Distinguished Service Crosses, approximately 250 Silver 
        Stars, over 600 Bronze Stars, and more than 2,700 Purple 
        Hearts, but--despite numerous individual acts of uncommon 
        valor--no Medals of Honor.
            (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 plaques and other monuments to 
                honor the Regiment at Arlington National Cemetery in 
                Arlington, Virginia; the San Juan National Historic 
                Site in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Ft. Logan National 
                Cemetery in Denver, Colorado; and at sites in Boston, 
                Massachusetts and Ocala, Florida;
                    (C) the renaming of a park in Buenaventura Lake, 
                Florida as the ``65th Infantry Veterans Park'';
                    (D) a grant awarded by the New York State 
                government to establish a memorial honoring the 
                Regiment at Buffalo & Erie County Naval & Military Park 
                in Buffalo, New York;
                    (E) the introduction or adoption of resolutions or 
                proclamations honoring the Regiment by the City of 
                Buffalo, New York; the City of Deltona, Florida; the 
                City of Kissimmee, Florida; the City of Orlando, 
                Florida; the City of Springfield, Massachusetts; the 
                County of Erie, Pennsylvania; the Florida House of 
                Representatives; the New York State Assembly; the New 
                York State Senate; and the Texas State Senate; and
                    (F) the 1985 issuance of a United States Postal 
                Service Korean War Commemorative Stamp depicting 
                soldiers from the Regiment.
            (30) In a speech delivered at a September 20, 2000, 
        ceremony at 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 said: ``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 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 will be displayed 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.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.

    (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund such 
amounts as may be necessary to pay for the cost of the medals struck 
pursuant to this Act.
    (b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of duplicate 
bronze medals under section 3 shall be deposited in the United States 
Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
                                 <all>