HR 9069

1	House Resolution
2	A resolution expressing support for the issuance of a
3	commemorative United States postage stamp honoring Puerto
4	Rico's 65th Infantry Regiment, "The Borinqueneers."
5
6	WHEREAS, Puerto Ricans have participated in every major
7	American military conflict, from the American Revolution, when
8	volunteers from Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Mexico fought the British
9	in 1779 under the command of General Bernardo de Gálvez, to the
10	current military operations in Iraq, and
11	WHEREAS, however, it was the 65th Infantry Regiment, a
12	volunteer regiment created in 1899, comprised primarily of
13	Puerto Ricans and nicknamed "The Borinqueneers," that engaged in
14	extensive combat and distinguished itself and the contributions
15	of Puerto Rican soldiers to the defense of the United States
16	most notably, and
17	WHEREAS, the 65th Infantry Regiment was created on March 2,
18	1899, as the Puerto Rico Battalion of Volunteer Infantry to
19	assist in reestablishing law and order in Puerto Rico following
20	the seizure of the island in 1898 during the Spanish-American
21	War, and
22	WHEREAS, the battalion proved so successful that the
23	following year it was expanded into the Puerto Rico Regiment of
24	U.S. Volunteers and in 1901 became the Puerto Rico Provisional
25	Regiment of Infantry, and
26	WHEREAS, on June 30, 1908, the regiment became part of the
27	regular Army and was renamed the Puerto Rico Regiment of the
28	United States Army, and
29	WHEREAS, in World War I, 1,969 Puerto Rican troops
30	voluntarily enlisted in military service and, one year later,
31	were sent to Panama in defense of the Panama Canal Zone, and
32	WHEREAS, during World War II, the 65th Infantry Regiment
33	landed in Italy and France and served in various capacities
34	across Europe, from engaging in anti-sabotage and security
35	missions in Germany to fighting in the Battles of Naples-Fogis,
36	Rome-Arno, Central Europe, and the Rhineland, and
37	WHEREAS, during the Korean War, the 65th Infantry Regiment,
38	a force of 6,000 troops by that time, was organized into three
39	infantry battalions, one artillery battalion, and a tank company
40	and attached to the Army's 3rd Division, and
41	WHEREAS, it was during the long sea voyage to Korea that
42	the men nicknamed the 65th Infantry Regiment "The
43	Borinqueneers," and
44	WHEREAS, A total of 61,000 Puerto Rican soldiers served in
45	Korea, most of them volunteers, with approximately 750 Puerto
46	Ricans from all four branches of the United States Armed Forces
47	losing their lives in the Korean War, and
48	WHEREAS, among the men of the 65th Infantry Regiment
49	serving in Korea, nine were awarded the Distinguished Service
50	Cross, 163 were awarded Silver Star Medals, and 562 were awarded
51	Bronze Star Medals, and
52	WHEREAS, as a unit, the 65th Infantry Regiment twice
53	received the Presidential Unit Citation, the Republic of Korea
54	Presidential Unit Citation, and the Meritorious Unit
55	Commendation, and
56	WHEREAS, following the Korean War, the 65th Infantry
57	Regiment returned to Puerto Rico and was deactivated in 1956,
58	and
59	WHEREAS, following its deactivation, the Department of the
60	Army transferred the 65th Infantry Regiment from the regular
61	Army to the Puerto Rico National Guard, thus making the 65th
62	Infantry Regiment the only unit ever transferred as an active
63	component of the United States Army to the National Guard, and
64	WHEREAS, Puerto Rico honored the 65th Infantry Regiment by
65	naming one of its principal avenues "La 65 de Infanteria" in San
66	Juan, Puerto Rico, and
67	WHEREAS, On May 20, 2001, the government of Puerto Rico
68	unveiled a monument honoring the 65th Infantry Regiment which
69	contains a statue of a soldier wearing a poncho with his rifle
70	in one hand and the regiment's flag in the other hand, and
71	WHEREAS, On February 12, 1951, General Douglas MacArthur,
72	was quoted in Tokyo as saying "The Puerto Ricans forming the
73	ranks of the gallant 65th Infantry on the battlefields of Korea
74	. . . are writing a brilliant record of achievement in battle
75	and I am proud indeed to have them in this command. I wish that
76	we might have many more like them," and
77	WHEREAS, because the contributions and sacrifices of Puerto
78	Ricans serving as Bourinqueneers have gone largely unnoticed and
79	unheralded, a commemorative United States postage stamp would
80	serve as a fitting tribute to Puerto Rico's 65th Infantry
81	Regiment and as a means by which the American public could
82	become better educated with respect to the Bourinqueneers'
83	dedicated service in defense of the United States, NOW,
84	THEREFORE,
85
86	Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of
87	Florida:
88
89	That the House of Representatives would be honored if the
90	United States Postal Service were to issue a commemorative
91	postage stamp as a fitting tribute to Puerto Rico's 65th
92	Infantry Regiment, "The Borinqueneers," and as a means by which
93	the American public might gain an increased awareness of the
94	Bourinqueneers' extraordinary service to our nation.
95	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the House of Representatives
96	would be honored if the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee
97	supported a recommendation to the Postmaster General of the
98	United States that such a commemorative stamp honoring Puerto
99	Rico's 65th Infantry Regiment, "The Borinqueneers," be issued by
100	the United States Postal Service.
101	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be
102	transmitted to Governor Luis Fortuño, Governor of the
103	Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, to the Senate and the House of
104	Representatives of the Legislative Assembly of the Commonwealth
105	of Puerto Rico, to the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee of the
106	United States Postal Service, and to John E. Potter, United
107	States Postmaster General.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.