Film vindicates forgotten World War II Boricua fighters

“Eight years later, Figueroa’s documentary, “The Borinqueneers,” airs locally tomorrow at 8 p.m. on Ch. 13 WNET and Sunday on Ch. 21 WLIW also at 8 p.m. The film tells the little-known story of the Puerto Rican 65th Infantry Regiment, the only all-Hispanic unit in the history of the U.S. Army.

Created in 1899 by the U.S. Congress, the 65th was a segregated unit made up of mostly Puerto Rican officers, and served in World War I, World War II and the Korean War. Due to Puerto Rico’s unique status as a U.S. commonwealth, the soldiers could serve and be drafted although the island is not a state of the union. “I was born in Puerto Rico, raised in New York, and I had never heard of the 65th,” Figueroa, 50, said.”

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