The Borinqueneers: 65th Infantry Regiment In The Korean War

The Borinqueneers: 65th Infantry Regiment in the Korea War In recent years, the world has been captivated by the history of heroism and sacrifice that represent the Borinqueneers. This 65th Infantry Regiment from Puerto Rico had to fight prejudice during their active service, but they became a lesson to the Latino-American community and other U.S. military segregated units. According to U.S. history (Bystran, 2016), the 65th Infantry Regiment Borinqueneers were the largest, longest standing, and only active duty segregated latino unit. In fact, they are the last segregated unit in combat. Their heroic actions in the Korean War paved the way for full integration of the United States Armed Forces.

The Borinqueneers U.S. Army Unit from Puerto Rico was active from 1899 to 1956 (Bystran, 2016). Like all veterans, they served and sacrificed towards the cause of freedom with pride and immense courage even when their

They suffered many acts of humiliation, including being ordered to shave their mustaches until they gave proof of their manhood, and being forced to use separate showering facilities from their non-Hispanic officers (Bystral, 2016). Other discriminative attacks they received involved orders that prohibited them from speaking Spanish under penalty of court martial. According to Brystal (2016), the Borinqueneers were forced to wear “I am a coward” signs, ordered to paint over their unit designation on their military vehicles and to discontinue their creole rations. All things considered, the Borinqueneers continued to perform their acts of patriotism all the way to the Cold War in Korea distinguishing themselves as true American war heroes. The 65th Infantry Regiment Borinqueneers always followed through their motto “Honor Et Fidelitas” which is Latin for “Honor and Fidelity” (Ramos,