List of Puerto Ricans missing in action in the Korean War
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The
United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...
has estimated that approximately 61,000
Puerto Ricans Puerto Ricans ( es, Puertorriqueños; or boricuas) are the people of Puerto Rico, the inhabitants, and citizens of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and their descendants. Overview The culture held in common by most Puerto Ricans is referred t ...
served in the military during the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, most of them volunteers. A total of 122 Puerto Rican
soldiers A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...
were among the 8,200 people listed as
missing in action Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been killed, wounded, captured, ex ...
(MIA). According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, there are 167 who are unaccounted for. This list does not include non-Puerto Ricans who served in the 65th Infantry, nor those who were "POW" (Prisoners of War) or "KIA" (Killed in Action). Nor does the total of this list include people of Puerto Rican descent who were born in the mainland of the
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. Spain officially ceded Puerto Rico to the United States under the terms of the 1898
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which concluded the
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. It is a
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and upon the outbreak of
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, the
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enacted the
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, which gave Puerto Ricans American citizenship with certain limitations (for example, Puerto Ricans are not allowed to vote in
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). Thousands of Puerto Ricans participated in these conflicts. Many lived and returned to their homeland, others either died or have been listed as missing in action. The term "MIA" dates from 1946 and refers to a member of the armed services who is reported missing following a combat mission and whose status as to injury, capture, or death is unknown. The missing combatant must not have been otherwise accounted for as either killed in action or a
prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...
. The Korean War was one of two major conflicts which accounted for the most Puerto Ricans missing in action, the other being the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
.


Korean War

According to the online archive "All POW-MIA Korean War Casualties," the total number of Puerto Rican casualties in the Korean War was 732. Out of the more than 700 casualties suffered in the war, a total of 122 Puerto Rican men were listed as Missing in Action. It was during the Korean War that Puerto Ricans suffered the most casualties as members of an all-
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volunteer unit: the
65th Infantry Regiment The 65th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed "The Borinqueneers" during the Korean War for the original Taíno Indian name for Puerto Rico (Borinquen), is a Puerto Rican regiment of the United States Army. The regiment's motto is ''Honor et Fidelita ...
. One of the problems the unit faced was the language difference; the common
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spoke only
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, while the
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s were mostly
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. In September 1952, the 65th Infantry was holding onto a hill known as "Outpost Kelly" until the
People's Volunteer Army The People's Volunteer Army (PVA) was the armed expeditionary forces deployed by the People's Republic of China during the Korean War. Although all units in the PVA were actually transferred from the People's Liberation Army under the order ...
which had joined the
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
ns, overran the position. This became known as the Battle for Outpost Kelly. Twice, the 65th Regiment was overwhelmed by Chinese
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and driven off. The Battle of Outpost Kelly accounted for 73 of the men missing in action from the total of 122. Out of the 73 MIAs suffered by the regiment in the month of September, 50 of them occurred on the same day: September 18. According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency seven Puerto Ricans who were members of the
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, with the exception of PFC Ramón Núñez-Juárez and PFC Manuel Perez-Pizarro who were Killed In Action. PFC Enrique Romero-Nieves and PFC Ramón Núñez-Juárez were awarded the
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, the second highest medal after the
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that can be awarded by the
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. Ramón Núñez-Juárez, who was listed as MIA, was posthumously awarded the medal. Núñez-Juárez's remains have never been recovered and a symbolic burial with
full military honors A military funeral is a memorial or burial rite given by a country's military for a soldier, sailor, marine or airman who died in battle, a veteran, or other prominent military figures or heads of state. A military funeral may feature guards ...
was held on October 25, 1970. There is a
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with his name inscribed above an empty grave in the
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, located in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. His name and that of the others are inscribed in El Monumento de la Recordación, a monument dedicated to the Puerto Ricans who have fallen in combat, located in
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.


Puerto Ricans missing in action

The following is a list with the names, ranks and the date in which 122 Puerto Ricans were listed as ''missing in action'' in the Korean War.Source of data: the Korean War Extract Data File, as of April 29, 2008, of the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) Files, part of Record Group 330: Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. You can view the full DCAS record for an individual named in the list via the Access to Archival Databases resource, or AAD. The link to the AAD main page is as follows: www.archives.gov/aad All of these men served within the ranks of the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
with the exception of Ramón Núñez-Juárez and Francisco González Matías, who served in the
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
. Their names are inscribed in El Monumento de la Recordación (The Wall of Remembrance) located in San Juan, Puerto Rico.


See also

*
Military history of Puerto Rico The recorded military history of Puerto Rico encompasses the period from the 16th century, when Spanish conquistadores battled native Taínos in the rebellion of 1511, to the present employment of Puerto Ricans in the United States Armed Forces i ...
*
65th Infantry Regiment The 65th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed "The Borinqueneers" during the Korean War for the original Taíno Indian name for Puerto Rico (Borinquen), is a Puerto Rican regiment of the United States Army. The regiment's motto is ''Honor et Fidelita ...
*
Henry Barracks, Puerto Rico Henry Barracks was a United States Army base located in Cayey, Puerto Rico named after the 3rd Military Governor of Puerto Rico and Medal of Honor recipient Major General Guy V.Henry. History This base in the Central Mountain range of Puerto ...
*
Camp Las Casas Camp Las Casas was a United States military installation established in Santurce, Puerto Rico in 1904. The camp was the main training base of the "Porto Rico Regiment of Infantry," On January 15, 1899, the military government changed the name of ...
*
List of Puerto Ricans missing in action in the Vietnam War The United States Department of Defense estimated that approximately there were 18 Puerto Ricans missing in action in the Vietnam War, from a total of 2,338 people that were listed as Missing in Action. This total, with the exception of PFC. Jos ...
*
List of Puerto Rican military personnel Throughout history Puerto Ricans, including people of Puerto Rican descent, have gained notability as members of the military. They have served and have fought for many countries, such as Canada, Cuba, England, Mexico, Spain, the United States an ...
*
Borinqueneers Congressional Gold Medal The "Borinqueneers Congressional Gold Medal" is a Congressional Gold Medal awarded to Puerto Rico's 65th Infantry Regiment by President Barack Obama, at an official ceremony on June 10, 2014. On May 19, 2014, the United States House of Represent ...


References


Further reading

* ''Puertorriquenos Who Served With Guts, Glory, and Honor. Fighting to Defend a Nation Not Completely Their Own''; by Greg Boudonck; * ''Historia militar de Puerto Rico''; by
Hector Andres Negroni In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...
; Sociedad Estatal Quinto Centenario (1992); {{DEFAULTSORT:War, List Of Puerto Ricans Missing In Action In The Korean
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
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