Welcome to the BoricuameRican podcast, where we talk about all kinds of things related to Puerto Rico and her people, be it sports figures, true crime, traditions, you name it. We are on Instagram at boricuamerican_podcast and on FB at BoricuameRican, we have a public page and a private FB group we’d love for you to join. 

I’m Nancy and today I’m here with my cohost and husband, the American to my Boricua, Chris Pinto of The Pinto Podcast. Together we are going to continue our series on the 65th Infantry Regiment, known as the Borinqueneers, the group of Puerto Ricans who served in the US Military. 

You might have noticed that there are episodes about other topics in between Borinqueneer episodes. There’ll all in order chronologically – they’re just not being recorded and dropped one after the other. So there might be a few weeks between episodes. That’s because we might stop to do episodes on the holidays or something else that comes up. Thanks for rolling with us on that. In fact, I wanted to give a shout out because we saw numbers go up and and saw some new locations including Rwanda! for the first time - that was exciting, so I want to thank all our regular listeners and shout out all new listeners. We’re truly grateful for each and every one of you. Please keep sharing! 

Chris please start us off. 

Before we get into the timeline, we wanted to share a recent post by Noemi (accent on the i) Figueroa Soulet on The Borinqueneers Documentary Film Facebook page. Noemi is a filmmaker and author who produced the documentary The Borinqueneers and wrote a book, which includes a bunch of amazing pictures, of the same name. 
 
 quote: “My dearest Borinqueneer Elpidio Jimenez passed away at the age of 98 on January 29, 2026 in Puerto Rico. Elpidio served in Company A during the Korean War. He was one of the veterans who appeared in my film “The Borinqueneers” expressing the homesickness that the soldiers felt with his beautiful rendition of a Christmas song they would often sing. He may in fact be the last veteran from the 24 that appeared in the film to pass away. 

Words fail me to explain to you how deeply I feel his loss. We had a long and loving relationship for more than 25 years where he participated in various events. He was surprised and loved the attention the public gave him. Elpidio and his daughter Sonia were in the group that I organized to return to South Korea in 2017 where we all had a wonderful time. He was a pastor and a deeply religious man so I know he is in good hands with the Lord and his fellow Borinqueneers. Please join me in offering our heartfelt condolences to the family.” End quote

Aww. Dammit! I'll have to cut that out.

Nancy had me read this because she thought she might go to pieces. But this guy had a long and awesome life. I mean, to be able to return back to Korea sixty years after. Right? That's crazy.

Yeah, I didn't know that, that they did a trip. I'm gonna have to pause and blow my nose. 

Blow the honker!

But yeah I didn't know that, that they went back. That's...wow. That must've been so poignant and like...

Probably brough up a lotta good and horrible memories. 

Yeah. I mean talk about a team. This is like our 4th episode in the series and if there is one thing that is the common thread it's that these guys always always always, whether it was a test drill or an emergency battle, they always fought with their entire heart and soul. Like, 100 percent you could count on them, so. 

Yeah. Woo! All right. I'm pausing. 

Ok. 

OK, I'm back. I'm collected. Ready to jump into the timeline.  

All right.

All right, the last episode left off at the end of 1950. That was episode 93 dropped on November 25, 2025. 

Today we start with January 1, 1951.  The 65th arrives in Pusan, South Korea.

By this day, in an event that is known as the Chinese New Year Offensive, which had technically started the day before, Chinese and North Korean troops had crossed the 38th parallel, i.e. the border of North and South Korea, and were deep into South Korea. They attacked the UN forces who were still in and around Seoul. The UN forces were overwhelmed and retreated. 
 
 From Pusan, the 65th was sent north, to multiple assembly areas, to regroup. They got their bearings: they fixed their equipment, evaluated their experiences, talked about what could have been done better, and reorganized.  Meanwhile, the Chinese weren’t done. They continued to push forward into South Korea. 
 
On January 4th 1951, the Chinese and North Koreans officially took over Seoul. Not good!

On or around January 5th: In light of this development, the 65th is ordered back to the front lines. Their mission is to stop the Chinese advance and begin pushing them north of Seoul. 

The Borinqueneers start heading to Seoul, which is a little over 200 miles northwest of Busan. Seoul is in the north part of South Korea. It’s only about 35 miles from the North Korean border.
 
 Their journey is not easy. It’s a harsh winter, the terrain is rough, and it’s not like they had shiny, fast, reliable trains to jump on. Sometimes they had to go by truck and/or on foot. 
 But the Chinese and North Koreans – they’re used to this.  They’re pushing south, trying to conquer main locations in South Korea. They have several goals:

The Chinese want to prevent hostile forces near their border.
 The North Korean want to reclaim territory.
 Politically: they would both love to spread communism. 
 
 The allies are trying to stop them and push them back up to N Korea and China. 

On January 25th, the UN kicks off Operation Thunderbolt, which was an offensive to see how strong the Chinese and North Korean troops were. This type of operation is called a “reconnaissance in force.” Basically, that’s when you attack the enemy with the purpose of finding out how many troops they have, where they’re hiding, how they fight, do they have obvious weaknesses, etc. — and then you decide whether to pull back or go all-in. You’re just testing the waters at this point. Depending on how it goes, the commander can say, yeah, we can beat them, let’s go in with full force, or, not now, they’re stronger than we are – we gotta get outta here. (This is different from a “covert reconnaissance” which is when you sneak around quietly to see what the enemy is doing and hope they don’t notice you.)

In this case, Operation Thunderbolt was successful, so they decided to initiate a larger attack. The Borinqueneers were part of this offensive. Chinese troops were stationed on various hills in an area just south of Seoul, and the Borinqueneers had to kick them out from two of the main hills. 

On January 28, the Borinqueneers captured Hill 270. But on January 29, Chinese troops who were still around noticed gaps in the defense, so around 2am, they infiltrated. A lot of the men were asleep. They used their favorite method of startling them: loud screeching, whistles and bugels. Then they charged and attacked the Borinqueneers. They threw grenades, one of them killing Lt. Fernando Vasaldua. Master Sergeant Juan Cordero quickly got his men together and counterattacked. He pushed the enemy back and closed the gaps in the defense. For his actions, he received a Bronze Star for Valor. 
 
 Another hero who earned a Bronze Star for Valor during this battle was Sergeant Victor G. Colón-Mateo. He was part of the Borinqueneers medical cohort. Literally in the middle of the fighting, he ran to wounded soldiers, treated them, and brought them to safety. He could’ve gotten himself killed. 

During the course of one day, January 30th, the 65th pretty much conquered Hills 449 and 262. Army commander Matthew B. Ridgway spent some time with members of the 65th and sent their regimental commander, William W. Harris, the following note:

Quote: “What I saw and heard of your regiment reflects great credit on you, the regiment, and the people of Puerto Rico, who can be proud of their valiant sons. I am confident that their battle records and training levels will win them high honors…Their conduct in battle has served only to increase the high regard in which I hold these fine troops.” End quote

The Borinqueneers kicked ass, but they also suffered. Sgt. Alfonso Garcia and Corporal Gonzalez S. Centeno, along with a number of American and British soldiers, were captured by the enemy during these battles. They were stripped of much of their clothing and ordered to march north. One night during the month-long ordeal, the Chinese got a little lax with security and the Puerto Ricans killed a guard and escaped. They made it back to the allied lines, freezing and starving but alive. 

The battles continued through January 31. It is estimated that during the last week of January, the Chinese and North Koreans had suffered over 300 casualties and 900 wounded, plus 23 captured. The 65th suffered 92 battle casualties plus an additional 275 non-battle casualties due to other factors, mainly the frigid weather. Non-battle casualties include: Frostbite, Trench foot, Illness, Exposure, and Accidents. To clarify, those were not deaths.

One of those casualties was 2nd Lieutenant Pablo Ramirez, who was killed in action.  He had been leading an attack on Hill 499, and the Chinese were putting up a good fight. One soldier was killed, two others were wounded, and the troops scattered. Lt. Ramirez reorganized and the Borinqueneers continued their attack. During the fight he evacuated the two wounded soldiers. He then went to evacuate a third injured soldier, but when he got to him he was killed by an exploding shell. For his sacrifice he was given a Silver Star. 

On February 2, the Borinqueneers, continuing these hill battles, charged the enemy using fixed bayonets…for those who aren’t exactly sure what that is, like me, a fixed bayonet is a knife attached to the end of a rifle. No one wants to see a huge army of angry Puerto Rican soldiers running straight at them with fixed bayonets. The enemy troops ran for their lives! The charge broke the enemy position and forced a retreat. According to the US Army website, “this was the last U.S. Army battalion-sized bayonet charge in history.” 

The days after the Bayonet Charge were filled with more battles, pretty easily won by the allied troops. They continued northward, towards Seoul and the Han River, pushing the enemy back. They had become quite the force to be reckoned with!

On February 10, the Borinqueneers went into reserve, meaning they got a much-needed break. This included hot showers, a shopping excursion, movies, Puerto Rican music, and religious services. Their morale was also boosted by learning that they had support of the entire island of Puerto Rico. I wonder what the movies were. Did they have to go to like, the Seoul Theater? Or did they bring their own?

That's a great question!  

It's 1950, I mean, I wonder what was hot those times, Audrey Hepburn, William Cagney, Cagney and Lacey...

What did they show em on, like a projector? Like the way they did drive-ins back then?

Maybe. Or like one of those screens that you roll up...

Yeah.

...and they all sit in some mess tent.

Probably. That's what I picture. 

All right. Fun fact: 50 public transportation buses displayed the Borinqueneers crest! 

The crest is a black shield with a white Maltese cross in the middle. These represent the Order of St. John of Jerusalem (Knights of Malta), referring to the name "San Juan," the city where the regiment was originally stationed.

Then underneath the shield is a gold scroll that says "HONOR ET FIDELITAS" in black letters. That’s Latin for "Honor and Fidelity."

The insignia was originally approved on November 27, 1923, and later amended to include the motto and reflect the unit's assignment to the Puerto Rico Army National Guard. 

Now back to the battlefield. Even though they were officially on reserve and trying to enjoy the break, they were still called into fighting on a moment’s notice. On February 13 and 14, 1951, a couple of the units were once again engaged in a fierce battle against 1500 North Korean soldiers. They boricuas won again! At the end of this battle, they had killed 537 North Koreans and captured another 268. The Borinqueneers lost one man, and six were wounded. Wow only one.

Man they kicked the crap outta them!

And six were...and this is straight from a book. I'm getting my stats from a book that an authority wrote on this.

Right. Do you know how many were in the uh, I'm just looking at the text. Do you know how many were in the Borinqueneers when they took on the 1500 North Korean soldiers? 

I think the entire 65th was maybe close to 4000 total. So I don't know how many were in this particular battle. Which units. 

OK. 

All right so um, where were we?

 February 19th and 20th saw more offensive actions and more battles against the Chinese and North Koreans near the Han River. By now the entire 65th was back in action.

On February 21st, the Americans launched Operation Killer, which was a major offensive aimed at destroying Chinese and North Korean forces southeast of Wonju. Wonju is about 75-85 miles east of Seoul in the north-central part of South Korea.

The Borinqueneers weren’t part of the main attacking force driving into that sector. Instead, they were positioned along the Han River near Seoul.

While Operation Killer unfolded to the east, the Borinqueneers used the distraction to probe and attempt crossings of the Han, keeping pressure on the enemy and protecting the western flank of the larger offensive.

For the rest of the month, the units of the 65th would continue in various battles, with the main goal of driving the enemy away from the Han River and Seoul, South Korea. 

The 65th Infantry remained on the Han through the end of February 1951. Here are the death and injury tolls for February: for the Chinese and North Koreans: the 65th had killed 1,505 enemy soldiers, wounded several thousand, and took 316 prisoners. The 65th themselves suffered 99 casualties in battle, plus 190 non-battle casualties.  

And we will leave it off here, at the end of February, and continue with March 1951 in the next installation.

I got one more thing.

Yeah!

It said that some of them, they got like frostbite and stuff? 

Yes.

That was some of the non-battle..

A lot of them had probably never seen cold before. Or did they, did they train in colder climates for this? They just went from Puerto Rico out to...

They kept training but only um, in Puerto Rico, yes. 

But even still, especially back in those days. You're like suddenly you're on the other side of the world in some strange fucked up climate. I mean, just the climate alone, not to mention that you can get your head blown off at any time. 

Yeah.

Gotta be a little traumatic! Gotta be a little like, "Where the hell am I?! Am I ever getting back to my life?" 

This, this was not the beautiful, lush tropical...

Yeah...

This was nasty, rough terrain. 

And then the guys that were marched north that were taken prisoner along with the Brits and the Americans. And they lost, they took their clothing!

Oh my God. Being cold, my football coach, my badass football coach, who was a Korean War veteran, this little crazy Italian guy, I remember him famously saying, "No matter how much of a man you are, when you're cold, you're cold." 

As always, we at BoricuameRican thank every member and veteran of the Puerto Rican and US militaries, and their families, past and present, for their service and sacrifice. Thank you for listening.