The Borinqueneers - aka The 65th Infantry Regiment of the United States Army (Part Two)

The Borinqueneers were a kickass, all-Hispanic, mostly Puerto Rican, unit of the US Army. These servicemen and women served honorably and with distinction during World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. 

Part Two covers the operations in Europe during World War II, including one soldier’s account of fighting the Germans in the Maritime Alps during the holidays (roast porcupine, anyone?). Despite having to also battle racism, these brave soldiers made invaluable contributions that helped the Allies win the war.

Los Borinqueneers fueron una unidad excepcional — todos hispanos, en su mayoría puertorriqueños — del Ejército de los Estados Unidos. Estos militares sirvieron con honor y distinción durante la Primera y la Segunda Guerra Mundial, y en la Guerra de Corea.

Parte Dos cubre las operaciones en Europa durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, incluyendo el relato de un soldado sobre cómo peleó contra los alemanes en los Alpes Marítimos durante las Navidades (¿alguien quiere puercoespín asado?). A pesar de tener que enfrentarse también al racismo, estos valientes soldados hicieron contribuciones invaluables que ayudaron a los Aliados a ganar la guerra.

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Transcript

Welcome to the BoricuameRican podcast, where we talk about Puerto Rico and its people. It could be history, traditions, celebrities, true crime, you name it. Thank you for being here, and welcome to my new listeners! I was excited to see Germany, Argentina, and more new places pop up!
 
 You can find us on Instagram at Boricuamerican underscore podcast, and on Facebook at Boricuamerican (we have a group and a Facebook page). I’m your jibara host, Nancy. 

I’m here today with Chris, my husband and sometimes cohost! 
 
 CHRIS: 
 We are excited to continue the story of the 65th Infantry Regiment of the United States Army, better known as the Borinqueneers! This is actually part two. In part one, episode 86 from September 13, we talked about how the regiment was formed way back when the US took over from Spain in 1898, and their accomplishments in World War One. After the war, the unit continued to train just like every other American military unit.
 
 NANCY:
 Just a quick review: the Borinqueneers were an all-hispanic, mostly Puerto Rican, unit of the US Army. It was a segregated unit, because back then segregation was legal, disgracefully. These servicemen and women served honorably and with distinction during World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. The nickname Borinqueneers, which started during the Korean War, comes from the original name of Puerto Rico. Its first inhabitants, the Tainos, called the island Boriken. The Spaniards who colonized it called it “BoriNquen” adding an N for some reason. So BoriNqueneers comes from that word. Some Puerto Ricans still call the island Borinquen or Boriken and Puerto Ricans are known as Borincanos or Boricuas. 

CHRIS: 
 We also want to briefly describe a couple of different types of military groups that come up a lot. The word “infantry” refers to foot soldiers who engage in ground combat. A “regiment” is made up of 2000-5000 soldiers, who get split among 3-5 “battalions”. Shout out to Christina Knight and THIRTEEN PBS who published a nice blog and chart outlining all the different groups - from “squad,” which is made up of 6-10 soldiers, all the way to “field army,” which has 50,000 soldiers and up. The blog is called “U.S. Army Units Explained: From Squads to Brigades to Corps.” I posted the chart on IG.  I won’t go through every single level here. 

NANCY:
 Now let’s jump to World War II, which started September 1st, 1939. The US wasn’t part of it in the beginning. But on December 7th, 1941, the Japanese attacked our military at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. So we declared war and jumped in the next day, December 8, 1941. Puerto Ricans were just as eager to serve as anyone on the mainland. They had already been training for war and enlisted faster than they could be assigned to a unit! Besides the 65th, two more units of Puerto Rican National Guardsmen were organized, the 295th and 296th infantries. All three infantries were under the command of Brigadier General Luis Esteves, who we talked about a little bit in part one. Troops were also positioned around Puerto Rico in case of an invasion on the island.

CHRIS
 Technically, there were already Puerto Ricans deployed in military service around the world. One such hero was Brigadier General Virgilio Cordero, native of San Juan.  He was by then a Colonel and Battalion Commander of the 31st Infantry, which was stationed in the Phillipines and had almost 1600 soldiers.
 
 NANCY:
  [As a friendly reminder, the Phillipines quote unquote “belonged” to the United States at that time. The US had purchased it from Spain after the Spanish American War of 1898.]

CHRIS:
 On December 8, 1941, the day after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, they attacked the US military bases in the Phillipines. The US had not expected that, but the leaders managed to move thousands of troops away to the Bataan Peninsula. They were kind of sitting ducks because the US wasn’t able to send help because of the attacks on the ships at Pearl Harbor. They also didn’t have ships to send from Guam or Wake Island. Still, the Filipino and American soldiers were tough, and for the next four months they did the best they could to hold off the Japanese, who didn’t think it would take this long to take over the Philippines! That is, until April 9 1942, when the US was forced to surrender. That day began the infamous and horrible Bataan Death March… Brigadier General Cordero, who during that time had become the first Boricua to command a Filipino Army regiment, was taken as a Prisoner of War along with an estimated 72,000 to 78,000 soldiers (around 10-12k Americans, the rest Filipinos). He remained a prisoner for over 3 years, until the Japanese surrendered and lost the war. Cordero received a Silver Star Award in 1947. 
 
 NANCY:
 Now back to the timeline for the Borinqueneers. 
 
 January 1943: a little over a year after the US joined the war, the 65th infantry was again sent to protect the Panama Canal zone, both the Atlantic and Pacific sides. 
 
 November 25, 1943 is a milestone for Puerto Rican army leadership. On this day, Colonel Antulio Segarra, native of Cayey (Cayey is in the interior of the island, in the east, halfway between San Juan and Ponce) took over as leader of the 65th, becoming the first Boricua to command a regular US Army regiment. 
 
 Because the military units were racially segregated, the Puerto Rican troops didn’t get put into combat. That was reserved for the white troops. However, the silver lining, for lack of a better term, is that it gave them more time to train thoroughly in all facets of military operations. While they weren’t going to be assigned front-line roles, their broad skills made them extremely valuable in crucial support roles. The plan was to send them to Italy, which the Germans had started occupying and taking over in various key locations. 
 
 CHRIS:
 First in either December 1943 or January 1944, the 65th left Panama and headed to Fort Eustis in Newport News, VA for more training. From there they were assigned to North Africa specifically for amphibious training, meaning water training. North Africa was a safe and secure staging hub for the Allies. It was a good “jumping off” point to go to Europe. The mission of the 65th was to prepare for a European invasion and to provide security and support for other military units. 
 
 NANCY:
 Here’s an interesting thing. One of the campaigns in Italy, which liberated Naples and captured airfields in Foggia, ran from September 9, 1943 to January 21, 1944. This was the Naples-Foggia campaign. Now, some sources say that the 65th Infantry Regiment actually received battle credit for this campaign — even though the regiment didn’t physically arrive in Italy until months later. That might sound odd, but it could be true if the Army sent a small delegation ahead of the main unit, and gave credit to the entire unit. However, there are sources where all the credits are listed, and this isn’t one of them. So, I apologize. I don’t want to share any bad information, but I didn’t want to miss anything either so…there it is.  

CHRIS:
 In March of 1944 the 65th departs Virginia.
 
 On April 5, 1944, they land at Oran, Algeria, which is across from Spain. They then travel 30 miles northeast to Port Aux Poules Naval Base. Port Aux Poules is French for “port of chickens.” So, Port of Chickens Naval Base. Not a real manly name for a military base. But this was good site for amphibious training.  

May 3rd, 1944: The 3rd battalion of the 65th arrives at Naples, Italy, which was a key supply hub for the Allies on their way to Rome. They join the 2nd Chemical Battalion to clean up and decontaminate the port. 

NANCY:
 From May through September 1944: The 3rd battalion relocates from Naples to Corsica, an island off the west coast of Italy (though politically it’s belonged to France since the 1700s).  Here they joined the Twelfth Air Force. Their main duty was to secure and protect the airfields and look out for threats from German planes. The goal of the good guys in Italy was to liberate Rome from the Germans, then keep going north to the Arno River and kick the Germans out of Florence. The ground troops and air force worked together to move forward as safely as possible. The rest of the 65th regiment (meaning the 1st and 2nd Battalions) remained in North Africa, continuing their training and awaiting orders for deployment, which they would soon get. 
 
 In September of 1944, the 3rd battalion of the 65th was moved out of the Rome-Arno campaign, as this particular Italian operation was called. Despite not having seen literal combat, they received campaign credit for their work.

CHRIS:
 Meanwhile, from mid August to mid September 1944, the Americans and the British were carrying out Operation Dragoon, which was one of the operations to liberate southern France (the other being the more famous Operation Overlord, where the Allies stormed the beach at Normandy). 

In early October, 1944, the entire 65th regiment, meaning all 3 battalions, land in Marseille and Toulon in Southern France. They were there initially in support roles, to handle supply lines and security, as they’d done before. They were what the army calls “follow-on forces” cuz they take over after the first troops finish. But this event marked the regiment’s first entry into an active combat zone!

NANCY:
 In the winter of 1944, the Puerto Ricans in Europe finally got to fight, participating in the Ardennes-Alsace campaign, which includes the Battle of the Bulge (the BB went from December 16 1944 to January 25 1945). On December 12 or 13, 1944, the 3rd battalion of the 65th, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Juan Cesar Cordero-Davila, arrived at the Maritime Alps, which is a mountain range at the border of northwest Italy and southern France. They were armed with cannons, based in an area called Peïra-Cava, on the French side, to fight the Germans who were stationed nearby at Fort de la Forca. This was not easy terrain. It was cold and it’s the mountains! The 65th was to look out, provide warnings, and counterattack. 

CHRIS:
Sure enough, the 65th was continuously assaulted by the Germans. The first casualties in the battalion were suffered in Januray of 1945. First was Colonel George A. Ford, on January 4th. He was the regimental commander. As the story goes, the Puerto Ricans were not happy about being stationed in the snowy mountains. Not only were they from a tropical island, but they had been training in North Africa, also hot! They weren’t used to these conditions. In order to booste morale, Ford personally led a patrol towards the Germans. This was not normal protocol. Usually a lower-ranking officer would do that because it’s very risky. Unfortunately, this backfired. Ford was immediately shot and killed. Then on January 15, Sergeant Angel Martinez and Private Sergio Sanchez-Sanchez were killed. These heroes were the first Puerto Rican soldiers of the 65th killed in action in Europe.

Still, the troops always managed to hold back the Germans.  

NANCY:
 We would like to share some direct testimony of someone who was there, William Feliciano Ruiz, who went on to become a lawyer. Quote: 

“…after certain special missions, we were sent on December 13, 1944 with our 105mm cannons to the front lines to support the Third Battalion of the 65th in the Maritime Alps, which are located on the borders of France and Italy.

As we were climbing that narrow and tortuous road with several feet of snow in the hillsides, we began to listen to the clatter of machine guns and the explosions of artillery. We positioned our cannons at around five o’clock in the afternoon. My squad, Cannon #2, had the assignment of shooting the first 45 lb. bullet at the Germans and this is how we began our odyssey in that war theater with temperatures reaching below zero, and with no previous combat experience. 
 
 Our squad, with its two cannons, was commanded by Sgt. Valladares of Mayaguez and my Section by Sgt. Ramon Ramirez of Bayamon. I was the artillery gunner of my squad; and amongst my buddies, I remember William Lopez, Pedro Rios, Basilio Agosto, Paco Charriez, and Chamorro of Ponce.

The Regiment was commanded by Colonel Ford, the Third Battalion by the well-remembered Colonel Cesar Cordero Davila and our company was commanded by Captain George Norris of Georgia. The First Sergeant was Herminio Melendez Vela of Ponce and Lieutenant Felipe Vias was the Executive. Historically, it was the first time that a unit of Puerto Ricans entered into action and we were boys between the ages of 18 and 25.”
 

CHRIS:
 William goes on to say that in the midst of all the cannon fire, one soldier or another would start singing (we’re not gonna sing): “My dear Puerto Rico, when will I see you again…” He also tells a story about how they spent Christmas Eve 1944. They had set up mines in the area, and in the early morning hours of December 24, while sleeping in the trenches, they were awakened by an explosion. They thought it was a German. Turns out it wasn’t a German who stepped on a mine, it was a huge porcupine! So they spent Noche Buena eating roast porcupine and drinking wine someone had snuck in, and reminiscing about Christmas in Puerto Rico. He says that to celebrate New Years, they wrote “Happy New Year” on a bunch of bullets, then fired 12 bullets from each cannon towards the enemy. The article will be linked in the show notes. 

Unfortunately, they suffered casualties. But their actions during this time proved that they were capable, courageous fighters and could be engaged in combat, not just support roles. For their excellent service, they would receive various military awards. 
 
 NANCY:
 The 65th remained in the Maritime Alps until February 26th 1945. Then they reunited, all of them, as a single unit, near Lorraine, in Southern France, to support the US Army operations against the Germans. This next operation, known as the Rhineland Campaign, took place from March 7 to March 21, 1945. The 65th left France, crossed the Rhine River, and headed towards the area around Mannheim, Germany. There they occupied strategic towns and crossroads and provided critical security and other duties, helping to stabilize the region as the Allies surged deeper into Germany beyond the Rhine. 
 
 CHRIS:
 This operation was part of the Central Europe campaign, which was the last major offensive by Allied Forces along the Western Front to defeat the Third Reich in Germany. The operation went from March 22 to May 11, 1945. The Americans linked up with the Soviets and all together they kicked Hitler’s ass. On May 7, 1945, Germany surrendered. For their participation, the 65th earned battle participation credit and presidential unit citations.

NANCY:
September 2, 1945: WWII ends, after Japan’s surrender. Fun fact: it was a Puerto Rican woman who arranged for word to be sent to President Harry S. Truman that World War Two had ended. This was Lieutenant Junior Grade Maria Rodriguez Denton of the United States Navy. Lieutenanta Denton was the first female from Puerto Rico to become a Navy officer as a member of WAVES: acronym for Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, the women's branch of the United States Naval Reserve during World War II.
 
 CHRIS: 
 The 65th Infantry Regiment did not go to Asia. They remained in Germany as part of the Allied occupation forces. On October 15, they left Germany and moved to Calais, in northern France, which is on the coast, across from London. On October 27, 1945, they sailed home. Almost two weeks later, on November 9, 1945, they arrived back in Puerto Rico, where the public came to welcome them home with great joy and admiration. 

NANCY:
 In the end, between 65,000 and 72,000 Puerto Ricans served in the US military during World War II. This includes the 65th, who were only a few years away from becoming known as the Borinqueneers. From what we could find, the 65th suffered 47 casualties. 

They went from Puerto Rico to Panama to the US to North Africa to Italy to France to Germany. They served in countless support roles without which the Allies might not even have won.  These included supply chains, security, communications, lookouts, cleanup, and other military projects. They’d trained on land, in the sea, and in jungle environments. When finally sent to combat operations, they were skilled and brave. Despite segregation, language barriers and racism, they enlisted with enthusiasm and served with pride.
 
 CHRIS:
 The 65th received many awards, including:
 Two Silver Stars
 22 Bronze Stars
 90 Purple Hearts
 and the Distinguished Service Cross, for heroism

They also earned campaign participation credit for the Rome-Arno, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe campaigns.

NANCY:
 On July 26, 1948, President Harry Truman signed Executive Order 9981, finally DESEGREGATING the armed forces!!!

CHRIS: 
 We mentioned this in part one, but just to reiterate. In 2016, the Borinqueneers were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by the US White House. They were the first Hispanic American unit to receive this award. The following statement is part of the official legislation, which had been signed into law two years earlier, by President Obama: quote:  “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.”

NANCY:

We’re gonna leave off there for now and come back in the near future to talk about when the 65th became the Borinqueneers, and their participation in the Korean War.

We at BoricuameRican thank every member and veteran of the Puerto Rican and US militaries, and their families, past and present, for their service and sacrifice. Thank you for listening.

SOURCES:

https://www.thirteen.org/blog-post/u-s-army-units-explained-from-squads-to-brigades-to-corps/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQM4cW42RGU
https://www.thenmusa.org/articles/the-65th-infantry-regiment/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgilio_N._Cordero_Jr.# https://army.togetherweserved.com/army/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=BattleMemoryExt&ID=198024
https://militaryhistoryonline.com/Modern/Borinqueneers#:~:text=Origin%20of%20the%2065th%20Infantry,Army%20on%20May%2027%2C%201908.
https://armyhistory.org/65th-infantry-regiment/
https://www.valerosos.com/Honorpg1.htm
https://borinqueneers.com/en_US/soldier/william-feliciano-ruiz-esq/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
https://francetoday.com/learn/history/the-other-d-day-the-forgotten-landings-in-southern-france/#:~:text=Another%20reason%20Operation%20Dragoon%20has,French%20overseas%20colonies%2C%20especially%20Africa.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/65th_Infantry_Regiment_(United_States)#World_War_II
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rican_women_in_the_military#World_War_II