Korean War and Other Conflicts
During the Korean War Puerto Ricans distinguished themselves as part of the 65th Infantry Regiment receiving many awards and recognitions, including ten Distinguished Service Crosses, however some men were unjustly accused and involved in the largest court martial of said war. Puerto Ricans have continued to fight in every conflict in which the United States has been involved, among which are the Vietnam War in which four Puerto Ricans were awarded the Medal of Honor, Operation El Dorado Canyon, Operation Desert Shield, Operation Restore Hope, Operation Desert Storm and in the military campaigns of Afghanistan and Iraq, in what the United States and its allies refer to as the War on Terror.
Some Puerto Ricans became notable commanders. Some have been awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration in the United States; or the Cruz Laureada de San Fernando (Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand), the highest military decoration awarded by the Spanish government. In World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War Puerto Ricans were the most decorated Hispanic soldiers and in some cases, such as Operation Restore Hope and Operation Desert Shield, they were the first to die in combat. The following list has been divided by the century in which the person became notable and the surnames are placed in alphabetical order.
Read more about this topic: Puerto Rican Military Personnel
Famous quotes containing the words war and/or conflicts:
“I realized how for all of us who came of age in the late sixties and early seventies the war was a defining experience. You went or you didn’t, but the fact of it and the decisions it forced us to make marked us for the rest of our lives, just as the depression and World War II had marked my parents.”
—Linda Grant (b. 1949)
“They [parents] can help the children work out schedules for homework, play, and television that minimize the conflicts involved in what to do first. They can offer moral support and encouragement to persist, to try again, to struggle for understanding and mastery. And they can share a child’s pleasure in mastery and accomplishment. But they must not do the job for the children.”
—Dorothy H. Cohen (20th century)