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; however, this total may vary slightly since some non-Puerto Ricans, such as Captain James W. Conner, were mistakenly included. Out of the more than 700 casualties suffered in the war, a total of 121 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-Hispanic volunteer unit: the 65th Infantry Regiment. One of the problems the unit faced was the language difference; the common foot soldier spoke only Spanish, while the commanding officers were mostly English-speaking. In September 1952, the 65th Infantry was holding onto a hill known as "Outpost Kelly" until the People's Volunteer Army which had joined the North Koreans, overran the position. This became known as the Battle for Outpost Kelly. Twice, the 65th Regiment was overwhelmed by Chinese artillery and driven off. The Battle of Outpost Kelly accounted for 73 of the men missing in action from the total of 121. Out of the 73 MIAs suffered by the regiment in the month of September, 50 of them occurred on the same day: September 18.
During the Korean War, two Puerto Ricans who were members of the United States Marine Corps were awarded the Navy Cross, the second highest medal after the Medal of Honor that can be awarded by the Department of the Navy. One of the recipients was Ramón Núñez-Juárez, who was listed as MIA and was posthumously awarded the medal. Núñez-Juárez's remains have never been recovered and a symbolic burial with full military honors was held on October 25, 1970. There is a headstone with his name inscribed above an empty grave in the Puerto Rico National Cemetery, located in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. His name is inscribed in El Monumento de la Recordación, a monument dedicated to the Puerto Ricans who have fallen in combat, located in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Read more about this topic: List Of Puerto Ricans Missing In Action In The Korean War
Famous quotes containing the word war:
“War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things: the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks nothing worth a war, is worse.... A war to protect other human beings against tyrannical injustice; a war to give victory to their own ideas of right and good, and which is their own war, carried on for an honest purpose by their own free choice—is often the means of their regeneration.”
—John Stuart Mill (1806–1873)