Uphill, both ways, that’s the cliché that parents will use when describing how challenging things were when they were younger as compared to today’s children. It’s usually preceded or followed by “back in my day” for full get-off-of-my-lawn effect. In that vein, Men of the 65th: The Borinqueneers of the Korean War has the very challenging goal of making readers care about a regiment that they probably haven’t heard of from a war that they most likely know nothing about. To make things even more problematic, the book is aimed at middle and high school students.
Yeah, those ages might not read as much as they should, and reading non-fiction about a war that flies under their radar won’t be the first book that they pick out for leisure reading. Men of the 65th: The Borinqueneeers of the Korean War does a good job of providing an overview of this regiment and what makes them unique.
The 65th Infantry Regiment was nicknamed The Borinqueneers during the Korean War because “Borinquen” is the Taino Indian name for Puerto Rico. The 65th saw combat in WWI, WWII, the Korean War, and the Global War on Terror. Men of the 65th concentrates on their actions after WWII and the Korean War.
The 65th had a stellar reputation in WWII and when that ended there was a famous training exercise that grew their credibility. In 1950 PORTEX, which stood for Puerto Rican Exercise, had the existing 65th take up the pretend role of an aggressive force that’s captured an island, with the United States Army, Marines, Navy, and Air Force pretending to liberate it. However, the 1:4 ratio wasn’t a fair fight and it was obvious that the exercise was stacked against the 65th. Despite, those numbers, the 65th created various tricky maneuvers, booby traps and managed to stop the progress of the faux liberators. It was their success in this training exercise that led them to be deployed to Korea.
This is where their famous nickname was assigned to them. In the early 1950s the Korean War was not going well for the United States and what is now South Korea. The Chinese were plying money and soldiers into the area at a much higher rate and had the advantage of being closer to their natural borders. They were making inward gains and the Borinqueneers were often playing a supporting role to existing Marines in situations where the battle had already been against them.
But much like their resolve in the PORTEX training, the 65th often assisted in the stoppage of ground being lost and in many cases gained ground. In October 1952 on a mountain top that was called Hill 391 the 65th Infantry Regiment was accused of abandoning their post and subsequently court-martialed. They were accused of retreating and then refusing to go back to the mountain, even though they were vastly outnumbered and outgunned. A different regiment similarly did the same action but was not punished.
Shortly after that incident, the 65th was integrated, with it no longer being a default option for Puerto Ricans. Concurrently, the trial of the soldiers in the 65th was sped up and hushed over, with it only receiving press in the United States due to letters that the soldiers had written back home.
Men of the 65th is a gripping story, but aspects of the book don’t capture the tension of the events. But then I ask myself, is that the goal of the book, or is it here just to state the facts? The cover of the book might lead people to think that it’s a graphic novel, due to the illustration. However, the interior of the book is loaded with real photographs and chapters that are non-fiction, YA appropriate. The cover might attract readers who like graphic novels, but feel tricked when they see the interior. Conversely, those history and non-fiction readers might think that Men of the 65th is a graphic novel, when it’s not.
As a book aimed at young readers who straightforwardly want their non-fiction, Men of the 65th is patient and tells an amazing story about bravery. It’s a book that will reveal a pocket of history that those ages don’t know about, if they take the time to dig into it. The book is entertaining, without glamorizing war, and it’s impactful, without being preachy, which it had numerous chances to do. It is not a book that readers will stumble into; either they’re curious about this chapter of the Korean War, or they’re not. Men of the 65th: The Borinqueneers of the Korean Was is worth seeking out if you’re looking for a slightly deeper than surface-level look at this regiment and their path to the Congressional Gold Medal in 2016.
Men of the 65th: The Borinqueneers of the Korean War is by Talia Aikens-Nunez and is available on Zest Books, an imprint of Lerner Books.
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