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U.S. Senate Passes González-Colón Bill to Honor the Borinqueneers

November 22, 2019

Legislation Heads to President’s Desk for Signature

Washington, D.C.- Last night, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed H.R. 2325, legislation introduced by Congresswoman Jenniffer González-Colón of Puerto Rico to officially designate the post office located at 100 Calle Alondra in San Juan as the "65th Infantry Regiment Post Office Building."

Shortly after Puerto Rico became a U.S. territory in 1898, Congress authorized the creation of a unit of volunteer soldiers. In 1920, the unit was redesignated as the 65th Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Army.

The members of the 65th Infantry Regiment—commonly known as the Borinqueneers—represent the best of Puerto Rico's proud and rich tradition of military service. For instance, fighting as a segregated unit from 1950 to 1952, they participated in some of the fiercest and toughest battles of the Korean War. For its extraordinary service, the 65th Infantry Regiment received many unit-level awards, including two Presidential Unit Citations. During World War II, soldiers in the unit earned one Distinguished Service Cross, two Silver Stars, two Bronze Stars, and 90 Purple Hearts. During the Korean War, soldiers from the 65th Infantry Regiment earned a total of nine Distinguished Service Crosses, approximately 250 Silver Stars, over 600 Bronze Stars, and more than 2,700 Purple Hearts.

In 2014, Congress enacted legislation to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the Borinqueneers. The 65th Infantry Regiment consequently became the first Hispanic unit and the sole unit from the Korean War to receive this distinction.

"The story of the 65th Infantry Regiment is emblematic of the courage of thousands of Puerto Rican soldiers who for generations have fought and bled alongside their fellow Americans to defend the United States," said Rep. González-Colón. "I'm proud the Senate passed my bill, H.R. 2325, which allows us to continue honoring the Borinqueneers' service by designating a post office in San Juan as the ‘65th Infantry Regiment Post Office Building.'"

It is not unusual to hear people refer to the post office at 100 Calle Alondra in San Juan as "el correo de la 65" due to its location near the 65th Infantry Regiment Avenue. The facility is also identified within the U.S. Postal Service's (USPS) addressing system as the "65th Infantry Station", but this is only for location purposes and to differentiate it from other USPS sites in San Juan.

In fact, the U.S. Postal Service confirmed that the station had not been previously dedicated or named. Therefore, Congresswoman González-Colón introduced H.R. 2325 to address this and formally designate the post office as the "65th Infantry Regiment Post Office Building" in honor of the Borinqueneers.

Resident Commissioner González-Colón introduced H.R. 2325 on April 15, 2019 and it unanimously passed the U.S. House of Representatives on July 17, 2019. With yesterday's action in the Senate, the bill now heads to the President's desk for his signature.