HR 9069

1
House Resolution
2A resolution expressing support for the issuance of a
3commemorative United States postage stamp honoring Puerto
4Rico's 65th Infantry Regiment, "The Borinqueneers."
5
6     WHEREAS, Puerto Ricans have participated in every major
7American military conflict, from the American Revolution, when
8volunteers from Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Mexico fought the British
9in 1779 under the command of General Bernardo de Gálvez, to the
10current military operations in Iraq, and
11     WHEREAS, however, it was the 65th Infantry Regiment, a
12volunteer regiment created in 1899, comprised primarily of
13Puerto Ricans and nicknamed "The Borinqueneers," that engaged in
14extensive combat and distinguished itself and the contributions
15of Puerto Rican soldiers to the defense of the United States
16most notably, and
17     WHEREAS, the 65th Infantry Regiment was created on March 2,
181899, as the Puerto Rico Battalion of Volunteer Infantry to
19assist in reestablishing law and order in Puerto Rico following
20the seizure of the island in 1898 during the Spanish-American
21War, and
22     WHEREAS, the battalion proved so successful that the
23following year it was expanded into the Puerto Rico Regiment of
24U.S. Volunteers and in 1901 became the Puerto Rico Provisional
25Regiment of Infantry, and
26     WHEREAS, on June 30, 1908, the regiment became part of the
27regular Army and was renamed the Puerto Rico Regiment of the
28United States Army, and
29     WHEREAS, in World War I, 1,969 Puerto Rican troops
30voluntarily enlisted in military service and, one year later,
31were sent to Panama in defense of the Panama Canal Zone, and
32     WHEREAS, during World War II, the 65th Infantry Regiment
33landed in Italy and France and served in various capacities
34across Europe, from engaging in anti-sabotage and security
35missions in Germany to fighting in the Battles of Naples-Fogis,
36Rome-Arno, Central Europe, and the Rhineland, and
37     WHEREAS, during the Korean War, the 65th Infantry Regiment,
38a force of 6,000 troops by that time, was organized into three
39infantry battalions, one artillery battalion, and a tank company
40and attached to the Army's 3rd Division, and
41     WHEREAS, it was during the long sea voyage to Korea that
42the men nicknamed the 65th Infantry Regiment "The
43Borinqueneers," and
44     WHEREAS, A total of 61,000 Puerto Rican soldiers served in
45Korea, most of them volunteers, with approximately 750 Puerto
46Ricans from all four branches of the United States Armed Forces
47losing their lives in the Korean War, and
48     WHEREAS, among the men of the 65th Infantry Regiment
49serving in Korea, nine were awarded the Distinguished Service
50Cross, 163 were awarded Silver Star Medals, and 562 were awarded
51Bronze Star Medals, and
52     WHEREAS, as a unit, the 65th Infantry Regiment twice
53received the Presidential Unit Citation, the Republic of Korea
54Presidential Unit Citation, and the Meritorious Unit
55Commendation, and
56     WHEREAS, following the Korean War, the 65th Infantry
57Regiment returned to Puerto Rico and was deactivated in 1956,
58and
59     WHEREAS, following its deactivation, the Department of the
60Army transferred the 65th Infantry Regiment from the regular
61Army to the Puerto Rico National Guard, thus making the 65th
62Infantry Regiment the only unit ever transferred as an active
63component of the United States Army to the National Guard, and
64     WHEREAS, Puerto Rico honored the 65th Infantry Regiment by
65naming one of its principal avenues "La 65 de Infanteria" in San
66Juan, Puerto Rico, and
67     WHEREAS, On May 20, 2001, the government of Puerto Rico
68unveiled a monument honoring the 65th Infantry Regiment which
69contains a statue of a soldier wearing a poncho with his rifle
70in one hand and the regiment's flag in the other hand, and
71     WHEREAS, On February 12, 1951, General Douglas MacArthur,
72was quoted in Tokyo as saying "The Puerto Ricans forming the
73ranks of the gallant 65th Infantry on the battlefields of Korea
74. . . are writing a brilliant record of achievement in battle
75and I am proud indeed to have them in this command. I wish that
76we might have many more like them," and
77     WHEREAS, because the contributions and sacrifices of Puerto
78Ricans serving as Bourinqueneers have gone largely unnoticed and
79unheralded, a commemorative United States postage stamp would
80serve as a fitting tribute to Puerto Rico's 65th Infantry
81Regiment and as a means by which the American public could
82become better educated with respect to the Bourinqueneers'
83dedicated service in defense of the United States, NOW,
84THEREFORE,
85
86Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of
87Florida:
88
89     That the House of Representatives would be honored if the
90United States Postal Service were to issue a commemorative  
91postage stamp as a fitting tribute to Puerto Rico's 65th
92Infantry Regiment, "The Borinqueneers," and as a means by which
93the American public might gain an increased awareness of the
94Bourinqueneers' extraordinary service to our nation.
95     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the House of Representatives
96would be honored if the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee
97supported a recommendation to the Postmaster General of the
98United States that such a commemorative stamp honoring Puerto
99Rico's 65th Infantry Regiment, "The Borinqueneers," be issued by
100the United States Postal Service.
101     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be
102transmitted to Governor Luis Fortuño, Governor of the
103Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, to the Senate and the House of
104Representatives of the Legislative Assembly of the Commonwealth
105of Puerto Rico, to the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee of the
106United States Postal Service, and to John E. Potter, United
107States Postmaster General.


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