The 65th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed “The Borinqueneers“, was an all-volunteer Puerto Rican regiment of the United States Army. Its motto was Honor and Fidelity. It participated in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. In 1956, the 65 Infantry was deactivated and became the only unit ever to be transferred from an active Army component to the Puerto Rico National Guard. The 65th Infantry Regiment 1st Battalion was transferred to the PRANG 92nd BCT with their sister battalion the 1/296th Infantry Battalion and has served in the War against Terrorism and Operations Iraqi Freedom/Enduring Freedom.

Puerto Ricans have participated in every major American military conflict, from the American Revolution, when volunteers from Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Mexico fought the British in 1779 under the command of General Bernardo de Gálvez (1746 – 1786), to the present-day conflict in Iraq.^[1] The 65th Infantry which was originally activated as the “Porto Rico Regiment” in 1898, served in World War I, and fired the first shot of World War I on behalf of the United States. It was involved in active combat during World War II. However, it was during the Korean War that the unit suffered the most casualties. Among the problems that they faced were the difference in languages (the common foot soldier spoke only Spanish, while the commanding officers were mostly English-speaking Americans) and the harsh, cold climate (more…)