REVISTA DEL COLEGIO DE ABOGADOS DE PUERTO RICO In September 1944, the remainder of the regiment received Company "A" was later detailed by Army Group Headquar- The Third Battalion, plus special units, were commited to In March 1945. the regiment crossed the Rhine River and The 65th Infantry Regiment was awarded battle participa- In addition to the 65th Infantry Regiment, the 162nd Field Artillery Battalion also served on the European theater attached to the Seventh Army in 1944 and 1945. Similarly, the 245th Quartermaster Company and several size logistical Puerto Rican Units also served in Europe. Furthermore, the all Puerto Rican 296th Regimental Combat Team and other large Puerto Rican logistical groups served as scattered units throughout the Pacific.74 backbone of the U.S. Armed Forces in Puerto Rico. See, supra, note 60 at p. 19. For a brief history of the 65th Infantry during World War II. sec. Manuel Muñoz-Rivera. ¿Hacia Dónde Héroes? (New York: Azteca Press, 1948). 73. Sce, supra, note 66 at pp. 17-19. THE BLOOD TAX: THE PUERTO RICAN CONTRIBUTION TO ... E. The Korean War: The combat record of the Puerto Rican units during the Korean War has become a military legend in the Island for it was there that the young Puerto Rican soldiers excelled themselves in unprecedented achievements, proving once again their bravery. their "cría" and their willingness to contribute to America's war effort.75 The Korean conflict lasted from June 1950 to July 1953, and during that period of time more than 61,000 Puerto Ricans served in the United States Armed Forces. 76 Puerto Rico's manpower contribution in raw numbers surpassed the individual contribution made by twenty States, the District of Columbia and any other territory in the Union (see Appendix I). Moreover, out of 3.049 Puerto Rican casualties, 731 soldiers were killed in action and 2,318 were seriously wounded. What's more, in terms of per capita contribution, Puerto Rico ranked second only to Hawaii in men wounded and third in the nation in the categories of battle deaths and total casualties (see Appendices II. III and IV). In Korea,- Puerto Rico had one casualty for every 600 inhabitants as compared to one casualty for every 1,125 inhabitants in the continental United States. Likewise, one out of every 42 American casualties was a Puerto Rican.79 During the Korean conflict, the 65th Infantry Regiment again distinguished itself in almost all the major battles of that war. The 65th Regiment participated in the United Nations first counter-offensive in late January 1951. and from then on it gained a reputation of being one of the toughest American units in Korea. For its heroic feats, the 65th received the following decorations: Presidential Unit Citation (Army), Meritorious Unit Commendation, two Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citations and a Bravery Gold Medal of Greece. 1 Briefly, the 65th Infantry Regiment's role in Korea has been summarized in the following paragraphs: The first tactical mission assigned to the unit was to relieve 75. The Puerto Ricans' Korean War record should be viewed against the domestic historical background during the early part of the decade. These were the convulsed fifties, when the Puerto Rican Nationalist movement violently pushed for Puerto Rico's independence with an abortive revolt in the Island in 1950, an abortive armed attack on the Blair House in that same year, and in 1954, an attack on the U.S. House of Representatives. See, supra, note 69 at pp. 13-16. 76. 77. Ibid. 80. See, supra note 60 at pp. 67-81. 81. See, Major General Verne J. Bowers. "Lineage and Honors of the 65th Infantry", (Washington D.C., Office of the Adjuntant General) unpublished typescript (copy in author's file). REVISTA DEL COLEGIO DE ABOGADOS DE PUERTO RICO Second Battalion moved to the vicinity of Hill 409 on the 27th of September [1950] and on the 28th the 65th suffered its first casualties. The battalion occupied its objective on the 28th. From Samnam-jin the regimental command post was moved to Changyong on the 27th of September where it remained until the 2nd of October when it moved to Hyopchon. From Hyopchon the regiment moved consecutively to Waegwon. Kumpchon, and Yongdong with the mission of protecting the Main Supply Route running from Pusan to the north. In addition, the 65th was ordered to clean up enemy resistance left behind by advancing elements of the U.N. Forces. Operations during this period consisted mostly of intense patrolling within the regimental sector of responsibility, and frequent engagements with North Korean guerrilla units of varying strength. The most important engagement with the enemy for that period was on the morning of the 17th of October when an enemy force estimated at 500 attacked Company "E" at Kumpchon. During that action, "E" Company killed 79 enemy and captured 85 prisioners suffering casualties of 11 men killed and 13 wounded. From the vicinity of Yongdong, the regiment moved by rail and motor to Pusan on 4 November and from there by ship to Wonsan, North Korea, arriving on the 5th of November. In North Korea the unit was assigned the mission of protecting the main supply route and occupying hills around the town of Younghung. The regiment arrived at Younghung during the evening of 6 November. Positions were occupied by the Second Battalion during the hours of darkness that day. Early on the morning of 7 November a strong enemy force attacked these positions. The attack was repelled with heavy losses to the enemy and relatively few losses for the 65th. The troops ran out of ammunition due to the fact that the regimental supply trains were still aboard ships at Wonsan. A re-supply by air drop was requested and successfully effected at daybreak. The two most important missions of the regiment in North Korea involved the rescue of the surrouned First Marine Division in the vicinity of the Chosin Reservoir, and the establishment of a beachead at Hungnam through which the remaining U.N. Forces in North Korea were to be evacuated. THE BLOOD TAX: THE PUERTO RICAN CONTRIBUTION TO... For an outstanding performance of these missions the entire unit was commended by the Third Division and 10th Corps. Major General Edward M. Almond, Commanding 10th Corps, presented the Silver Star for gallantry in action to Colonel William W. Harris, Commander, 65th Infantry. The evacuation of Hungnam was completed on the evening of the 24th of December 1950. Elements of the Second Battalion, 65th Regimental Combat Team, were the last troops to abandon the beach. From Hungnam the unit moved to Pusan and then to Yongjan-ni where it arrived on 29 December to undertake a short period of training. The unit was re-equipped for further action. From Yongjan-ni the 65th moved to the vicinity of Chicksan where attack missions were assigned. An advance without encountering enemy resistance was made from Pyontack-ni to the North of Osan. Successive objectives were assigned from Kongae-ri to Pojon-ni and northward in the direction of the Han River. The first units to encounter enemy resistance on this mission were the First and Second Battalions when a large enemy force attacked 65th positions early on the morning of 29 January. On this occasion the regiment lost five men killed in action and 23 wounded. During this action Sergeant First Class Moisés Nazario of Yauco, Puerto Rico, found an enemy order together with an overlay showing enemy disposition, on the body of an enemy killed in action. After a thorough study of the document by the regimental staff, it was determined to be authentic and Colonel Harris formulated attack plans based on it. The 65th attack was supported by the 10th and 92th Field Artillery Battalions and by air support. The advance to successive objectives was slow, due to the rugged nature of the terrain, but hundreds of casualties were inflicted daily on the enemy as companies occupied and secured their objectives. Further attack and general combat missions were performed by the 65th as part of the 3rd Infantry Division until the signing of the cease-fire. In Novmeber 1954, the regimental colors were returned to Puerto Rico.2 82. Supra, note 66 at pp. 22-23. REVISTA DEL COLEGIO DE ABOGADOS DE PUERTO RICO F. The Vietnam War: Unfortunately, neither the Pentagon nor any Federal agency has yet compiled data relative to the number of military personnel by State or territory who served during the Vietnam era. There is also an absence of published statistics concerning specific units or the total number of Puerto Rican casualties during that war. 3 4 The Vietnam War was a true American nightmare. In fact it was a major blunder in American foreign policy and an enormous tragedy that brought about the death of more than 50.000 Americans and a critical period of national convulsion "Vietnam" was a word that divided many American citizens in the States and particularly in Puerto Rico since inevitably the issue became entagled with the perennial controversy over the political status of the Island. In spite of the dubious moral and constitutional nature of the Vietnam War, many Puerto Ricans loyally served in the United States Armed Forces during that period. Presently, there are approximately 47.000 Vietnam War veterans in Puerto Rico and they constitute around 28% of all war veterans living in the Island. In addition, our research reveals that there were 270 Puerto Rican battle deaths in Vietnam which places Puerto Rico 39th in that category among the States and other territories and possessions (see Appendix V).86 G. In General: 7 Since the early part of this century approximately 192.034 Puerto Ricans have served in the United States Armed Forces during the major wars of the nation. In addition, Puerto Ricans have suffered at least 3.489 casualties including 1.025 battle deaths and at least 2,464 men wounded (see Appendix VI). These figures do not include all of those Puerto Ricans who served in the United States Armed Forces in times of peace and which also have significantly contributed to the defense of the nation. Hence, during the last eight decades Puerto Ricans have contributed enormously to America's war effort and to the defense of the 83. See. Letter from Brigadier General James L. Collins (Chief of Military History - U.S. Army) to Mr. Walter J. Dávila (Director of the Office of Federal Affairs. La Fortaleza) dated October 20, 1978 concerning the Puerto Rican contribution to the United States War effort (copy in author's file). 84. 85. 86. 87. Sec. supra, note 69 at p. 18. Source. Veterans Administration Field Summary (Washington, D.C.. Department of See, supra note 69 at pp. 18-19. Puerto Rico had more battle deaths than the States of This figure should be much higher; however, the total casualty figures for the Vietnam 88. ld. |