There has only been one segregated Latino unit in U.S. military history. The Army refers to them as the 65-Infantry Regiment, but the members of that unit have long referred to themselves as the “Borinqueneers."
“It's a combination of ‘Boríken,’ which is what the name of Puerto Rico [is] by the original people that lived there, the Taíno people,’’ said New Haven author Talia Aikens-Nuñez. “And then the ‘eers’ came from ‘buccaneers,’ who were the Spanish pirates.”
Aikens-Nuñez said she found out about the Borinqueneers during a Christmas visit with her husband’s family that spurred her to action.
“My husband was born and raised in Puerto Rico. His grandfather told me he was a part of the famed 65th [Infantry Regiment],” Aikens-Nuñez said. “I felt really ashamed because I didn't know who these men were.”
She said that sent her to Google to find out more. The problem was there was very little information on the web either. And, she says, she couldn’t find a book detailing the exploits of the regiment.
“My husband turned to me and said, ‘Well, I guess you need to write it!’” Aikens-Nuñez said.
A defining moment
A decade later, in 2023, Aikens-Nuñez debuted her book “Men of the 65th - The Borinqueneers of the Korean War.”
Despite the title specifically referencing their service in the Korean War, Aikens-Nuñez explained The Borinqueneers have actually been around since 1899.
“They served in World War I [and] World War II,” Aikens-Nuñez said, “but they really made their mark in the Korean War, where they actually experienced combat.”
It was on Christmas 1950 when the Borinqueneers had their defining moment, Aikens-Nuñez said.
“They were actually in North Korea, and the Marines have become surrounded by North Korean and Chinese soldiers,” Aikens-Nuñez said. “So they created a line from where the Marines were out to the port, and led the back part of that to make sure that they kept the enemy at bay and helped to rescue different units in the military that were a part of the Korean War.”
While serving in Korea, the Borinqueneers earned numerous awards, including four Distinguished Service Crosses,125 Silver Stars, Presidential and Meritorious Unit Commendations, two Korean Presidential Unit Citations, and the Greek Gold Medal for Bravery. But, Aikens-Nuñez said the Borinqueneers service also got them into trouble with their own superior officers.
“There were a couple areas where they lost some ground, and one of the notable ones is called Kelly Hill. And so, after the defeat, the military changed to a new commander. His goal was to ‘bring discipline’ to the unit. So he ordered all of the men to shave their mustaches and beards until, as he put it, they can prove their manhood. He also removed their name, Borinqueneers,” Aikens-Nuñez said.
The commander’s effort went even further, trying to strip the unique identity away from members of the 65th.
“He removed their specialized rations of rice and beans. And rice and beans, it was just a little something that the military did to kind of remind the men of home,” she said.
Facing a double standard
Aikens-Nuñez said things went from bad to much worse at the subsequent battle of Jackson Heights.
“It was essentially an impenetrable rock, so they couldn't dig in, and they were too far in front of the mainline resistance to get air support,” Aikens-Nuñez said. “So day after day, they went on fighting on this hill, losing many, many, many men. So at one point, some of the men refused to fight, so those men were court-martialed, the largest court martial of the Korean War.”
Ninety-one members of the 65th were court-martialed after the Jackson Heights debacle and sentenced to prison. However, the Secretary of The Army pardoned them a year later after a public outcry. He blamed poor leadership and racism for the Borinqueneers' harsh treatment.
Aikens-Nuñez said an episode that soon followed in the infamous battle for Jackson Heights highlighted the double standard the 65th was facing.
“A bit after the time when they [the Borinqueneers] refused to fight, another unit … they refused to fight,” Aikens-Nuñez said. “That was a white unit. They were not court-martialed.”
Learn more
Author Talia Aikens-Nuñez will be at The New Haven Museum on Thursday, Oct. 3, talking about her book, “Men of the 65th: The Borninqueneers of the Korean War.”
