The 65th Infantry Regiment (Borinqueneers)
A segregated Puerto Rican regiment of the U.S. Army that served in both World Wars but won its greatest fame in the Korean War, where it fought with distinction while facing discrimination.
Where this fits on the timeline. The 65th Infantry Regiment had a long history, serving in World War I and World War II, but it earned its greatest fame after those wars, in the Korean War that began in 1950. As one of the first hot conflicts of the Cold War, Korea tested American units against a determined enemy in brutal terrain, and the Puerto Rican soldiers of the 65th, known as the 'Borinqueneers,' met that test with a valor that eventually forced a nation to honor them.
Soldiers of Borikén
A name older than the United States. The regiment's nickname comes from Borikén (also spelled Borinquen), the name the Taíno people gave to Puerto Rico long before Europeans arrived. Puerto Ricans became U.S. citizens in 1917, and the 65th was a segregated unit made up largely of Puerto Rican soldiers, many of whom spoke Spanish as their first language and served under mostly non-Puerto Rican officers. Like other minority units of the era, they carried the extra weight of proving themselves against low expectations and open prejudice.
Into the Korean War
Bayonets and hard fighting. When the Korean War broke out in 1950, the 65th was sent into some of the conflict's toughest fighting. The Borinqueneers became known for their aggressiveness and courage, including dramatic bayonet charges against enemy positions, some of the last major bayonet assaults in U.S. Army history. They fought in fierce winter conditions and earned a reputation as reliable, hard-hitting soldiers among the generals who commanded them.
Covering the retreat
Guarding the escape at Hungnam. In late 1950, after Chinese forces poured into the war, United Nations troops were forced into a massive evacuation from the port of Hungnam, pulling tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians out by sea. The 65th Infantry served as part of the rear guard, holding the line and covering the withdrawal so others could escape. It was dangerous, unglamorous work, exactly the kind of mission that decides whether an evacuation becomes a rescue or a disaster.
Injustice in the ranks
Honored and mistreated at once. Even as they fought bravely, the Borinqueneers faced discrimination. In 1952, amid heavy combat, exhaustion, and breakdowns in orders and supply, a group of Puerto Rican soldiers were swept up in a controversial mass court-martial, one of the largest in the war. Many historians see the episode as shaped by prejudice and poor leadership rather than genuine cowardice. The convictions were later remitted or pardoned, and the affair is now remembered as a stain on how the Army treated these men, not on the men themselves.
Long-overdue recognition
A medal generations in the making. For decades the Borinqueneers' story was little known outside Puerto Rico. In 2014, Congress awarded the 65th Infantry Regiment the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation's highest civilian honor, recognizing their service across two world wars and Korea. It was a long-delayed acknowledgment that these soldiers had earned a permanent place in American military history.
Why they matter
Loyalty tested and proven. The Borinqueneers belong alongside the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the Six Triple Eight, and the Tuskegee Airmen as minority Americans who served with distinction while their own country treated them unequally. Their story stretches the history of minority service past World War II and into the Cold War, and it shows that the fight for recognition often takes far longer than the fight on the battlefield.
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Key Takeaways
The 65th Infantry Regiment ("Borinqueneers") was a segregated Puerto Rican unit of the U.S. Army that served in both World Wars and the Korean War
Its name comes from Borikén (Borinquen), the Taíno name for Puerto Rico; Puerto Ricans became U.S. citizens in 1917
The regiment won its greatest fame in the Korean War (1950–53), including bayonet charges and covering the Hungnam evacuation as a rear guard
In 1952 a controversial mass court-martial of Puerto Rican soldiers, widely blamed on prejudice and poor leadership, ended in convictions later remitted or pardoned
They faced discrimination even while fighting bravely for the United States
The regiment received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2014 as long-overdue recognition