Puerto Ricans in World War II
Puerto Ricans in World War II |
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Then-Major General Pedro del Valle, U.S. Marine Corps (second from left) was the first Puerto Rican to achieve a general rank, is greeted by then-Colonel Chesty Puller, U.S. Marine Corps, on Pavuvu in late October 1944, while Major General Rupertus, U.S. Marine Corps, (far left) looks on.
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Location of the island of Puerto Rico (green)
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 Noel Estrada's "En mi viejo San Juan" on YouTube
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Pedro Flores' "Despedida" on YouTube intrepreted by Daniel Santos
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Carmen Dumler
Pedro de Valle
Carmen Conteras-Bozak
César Luis González
Joseph B. Aviles, Sr.
Rafael Celestino Benítez
Jose M. Cabanillas
Edmund Ernest García
Carmen Garcia Rosado
Gilberto José Marxuach
Virgil R. Miller
Alberto A. Nido
Horacio Rivero Jr.
Maria Rodriguez Denton
Fernando Bernacett
Puerto Ricans and people of Puerto Rican descent have participated as members of the United States Armed Forces in every conflict in which the United States has been involved since World War I. In World War II, more than 65,000 Puerto Ricans service members served in the war effort, including the guarding of U.S. military installations in the Caribbean and combat operations in the European and Pacific theatres.
Puerto Rico was annexed by the United States in accordance to the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898, ratified on December 10, 1898, as consequence of the Spanish–American War. U.S. Citizenship was imposed upon Puerto Ricans as a result of the 1917 Jones-Shafroth Act (the Puerto Rican House of Delegates rejected US citizenship) and were expected to serve in the military. When an Imperial Japanese Navy carrier fleet launched an unexpected attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Puerto Ricans were required to bear arms in defense of the United States. During World War II, it is estimated by the Department of Defense that 65,034 Puerto Ricans served in the U.S. military. Most of the soldiers from the island served in either the 65th Infantry Regiment or the Puerto Rico National Guard. As the induction of Puerto Ricans into the armed forces increased many were assigned to units in the Panama Canal Zone and the British West Indies to replace the continental troops serving in regular Army units. Those who resided in the mainland of the United States were assigned to regular units of the military. They were often subject to the racial discrimination that was widespread in the United States at the time.
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Wikipedia