I was listening to the Curtis Sliwa radio program last week and he had Steve Adubato as a guest. The discussion turned to the documentary about the Borniqueneers. Adubato said there would be screening shown in Perth Amboy at the High School. Adubato will be hosting a panel discussion afterwards.

Sliwa said the documentary should be required to be shown in all the school systems: public and parochial.

I wholeheartedly agree with that statement. The Boriqueneers were an all Hispanic segregated Unit in the U.S. Army. What was the most impressive about this 65th Infantry Regiment was their loyalty to America. This was in spite the harsh treatment they received while enlisted.

There is a lesson that can be learned from their experiences. There are people who are born in America that are not as loyal to this country as the Borniqueneers were.

The tiny island of Puerto Rico suffered a great loss when many of the soldiers that came from there were killed. At one time one in every four fatality was a soldier from Puerto Rico.

The 65th Regiment were one of the first units to go into Korea. The Borinqueneers played a major part in 9 campaigns. They served 60 more days than other troops. General Douglas MacArthur paid tribute to them and said he wished he had more troops like them.

Most were wounded 2 or 3 times. When the 7th Infantry was trapped by the Chinese, it was the 65th Regiment that cleared a path for the 7th to withdraw.

The 65th Regiment did not receive the Medal of Honor, but that did not deter them. It just made them prove themselves even more.

During the panel discussion after the screening, producer Noemi Soulet and Colonel Gilberto Villahermosa said the men of the 65th Regiment that they interviewed had one thing in common – they were proud to serve and they want to make Puerto Rico and America proud. They were proud to be Americans and would do it all over again despite the discrimination.

I’ve only hit the tip of the iceberg of what was said in the documentary. There is so much more that was said and I encourage all to buy a copy of the DVD.

The journey is not complete for the Veterans who served in the 65th Infantry Regiment. There are 2 bills that need to be pushed for these Veterans to receive a well deserved Congressional Gold Medal. If anyone deserves this, it is this unit.

We would like to thank PRAHD (Puerto Rican Association of Human Development) for sponsoring this free screening. For more info visit: www.Borinqueneers.com

Carolyn Maxwell