Frank Medina is a former U.S. Army captain who organized and managed the successful nationwide campaign to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the U.S. Army's 65th Infantry Regiment, also known as the Borinqueneers.
The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian honor that can be awarded by the United States. As of 2014, only six other military units have received this award: The Tuskegee Airmen, the Navajo Code Talkers, the Native American Code Talkers, the Nisei Japanese soldiers, the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs), and the Montford Point Marines. [1] Until 2014, when the Borinqueneers received it, the only Latino in U.S. history to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal was Roberto Clemente. [2]
Medina was born in 1979 in Ponce, Puerto Rico. His family moved to the United States during his childhood, and he grew up in Bridgeport, Connecticut. [3] [4]
In 2002, he graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point. [3] [4] [5] He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Management in West Point, with a minor in Electrical Engineering. [6]
In June 2012, Medina graduated from the University of Florida with a Master of Science degree in Industrial & Systems Engineering, with a minor in Information Systems. He holds the Project Management Professional certification along with several IT/Telecommunication certifications. [6]
Medina served in the Iraq War and rose to the rank of captain. [3] [4] [5]
During his military service, Medina's overseas assignments included Seoul, South Korea; Honduras; Kuwait; and a combat tour in Iraq with Operation Iraqi Freedom. He served as a U.S. Army officer in the Signal Communications Corps.
Capt. Medina first heard of the 65th Infantry Regiment from his Korean War veteran grandfather, Efraín Santiago, who talked about the discrimination that he and his fellow Puerto Rican Borinqueneers faced in the U.S. military. Over time, Medina was able to grasp the cultural context, and military significance, of the Borinqueneers' service during World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. [3] [4]
The Borinqueneers unit was created by the U.S. Congress in 1899 as an all-Puerto Rican unit, and is credited with waging the last battalion-sized bayonet assault in U.S. Army history.[ citation needed ]
The men of the 65th, now attached to the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, were amongst the first infantrymen to meet the enemy on the battlefields of Korea. After November 1950, they fought daily against units of the Chinese People's Liberation Army after the Chinese entered the war on the North Korean side.
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In April 1951, the regiment participated in the Uijonbu Corridor drives and in June 1951, the 65th was the third regiment to cross the Han Ton River. The 65th took and held Chorwon and were also instrumental in breaking the Iron Triangle of Hill 717 in July 1951. In November 1951, the regiment fought off an attack by two regimental size enemy units. Colonel Juan César Cordero Dávila was named commander of 65th Infantry on 8 February 1952, thus becoming one of the highest ranking ethnic officers in the Army. [7]
The Borinqueneers were awarded battle participation credits for the following nine campaigns: UN Defense-1950, UN Offense-1950, CCF Intervention-1950, First UN Counterattack Offensive-1951, UN and CCF Spring Offensive-1951, UN Summer-Fall Offensive-1951, 2nd Korean Winter 1951–52, Korean Summer-Fall-1952 and 3rd Korean Winter-1952-53. They are also credited with the last battalion-sized bayonet assault in U.S. Army history. [8]
During the Korean War, the Borinqueneers were awarded one Medal of Honor to Master Sargeant Juan E Negrón, nine Distinguished Service Crosses, 258 Silver Stars, 628 Bronze Stars, and 2,771 Purple Hearts. Seven hundred fifty Borinqueneers died in the Korean War. [3] [4] [9]
Medina's decision to bring recognition to the Borinqueneers occurred when he attended a service academy minority alumni reunion, where he met a man named Raul Reyes Castañeira. A Borinqueneer and Korean War vet, Castañeira was the youngest of four brothers who served in Korea with the regiment. During the event, Castañeira pointed to a Montford Point Marine and said, "that Marine has a Montford Point gold medal. How can we get one?" At that moment, Medina decided to take action. [3] [4]
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In 2012, Medina founded the Borinqueneers Congressional Gold Medal Alliance—a group of individuals and organizations dedicated to obtaining the Congressional Gold Medal for the Borinqueneers, which was sponsored by the You Are Strong! Center on Veterans Health and Human Services. [3] [4] From 2012 until 2014, Medina was National Chair for the Borinqueneers Gold Medal Alliance, and the driving force behind the effort to pass a congressional bill to recognize the unit. [3] [4] [9]
Medina and his colleagues, conducted a multi-front campaign which included nationwide cold calling, a website launch, and numerous letters to officials and legislators, including four Puerto Rican members of Congress: Rep. José E. Serrano (D-NY), Rep. Nydia Velasquez (D-NY), Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) and Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho).
In Pennsylvania, Medina's efforts were supported locally by Pennsylvania State Senator Mike Stack, his legislative assistant Juvencio Gonzalez, and veterans organizations who urged the House of Representatives and Senate to take action. [10] In Washington, DC, the staff of Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi worked tirelessly, advocating and coordinating with both houses of congress, until a bill on behalf of the Borinqueeners was sponsored by U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Congressman Bill Posey (R-Fla.). [3] [4]
On June 10, 2014, President Barack Obama signed the legislation to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the Borinqueneers. [3] [4] [9]
In November 2014, Medina wrote an article about the Borinqueneers and the Congressional Gold Medal initiative, which was published in Army Magazine. [11]
In March 2015, Medina was recognized for his organization and leadership of the national Congressional Gold Medal campaign initiative. His advocacy continues with support for the renaming of East Main Street after the Borinqueneers, in the town of Bridgeport, Ct. [12]
The 65th Infantry Regiment was deactivated in 1956. [2] [4] The Congressional Gold Medal initiative thus had sense of urgency to ensure that at least some of the Borinqueneers would be alive to be honored. In addition, Medina told ABC News that, "We need to weave the contributions of not only Hispanic veterans, but all Hispanics into the fabric of American culture. We definitely need to leave a positive image." [3] [4]
Medina was also reported as having one more goal in mind for the group. "They deserve to have a Hollywood movie made about them," he said. [5]
After departing from active military service, Medina joined the U.S. Army Reserves with the rank of mayor and worked as an IT network analyst and was assigned to Kabul, Afghanistan, where he viewed the progression of the country's nascent government rebuild into a modern society. [6]
In June 2012, he graduated from the University of Florida with a Master of Science degree in Industrial & Systems Engineering with a minor in Information Systems. While completing his studies at the University of Florida, Medina helped to educate and mentor many undergraduate Hispanic students in the rigors of graduate school selection, admission applications and career advice/development, as well as what industry and occupations in which to specialize. [13]
Medina holds the Project Management Professional certification along with several IT and Telecommunication certifications. He currently lives in Orlando, Florida, where he works with the Department of the Navy as a systems engineer for training and simulation technologies for U.S. Navy Aircraft. [5] [9] [13]
Brigadier General Antonio Rodríguez Balinas was the first commander of the Office of the First U.S. Army Deputy Command.
Sergeant First Class Modesto Cartagena de Jesús was a member of the United States Army who served in the 65th Infantry Regiment, a military regiment consisting of Puerto Rican enlisted soldiers and officers from the continental United States also known as "The Borinqueneers," during World War II and the Korean War, becoming the most decorated Hispanic soldier in that war. He was the most decorated Puerto Rican soldier in history.
Master Sergeant Pedro Rodríguez was a U.S. Army soldier from Puerto Rico who earned two Silver Stars within a seven-day period during the Korean War. He is one of the few U.S. Army soldiers and perhaps the only Puerto Rican soldier other than Brigadier General Antonio Rodríguez Balinas, Second Lieutenant Vidal Rodriguez-Amaro, and Sergeant First Class Felix G. Nieves to receive more than one Silver Star during the Korean War. Rodríguez served in the 65th Infantry Regiment during both World War II and the Korean War; the 65th Infantry was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2014.
The recorded military history of Puerto Rico encompasses the period from the 16th century, when Spanish conquistadores battled native Taínos in the rebellion of 1511, to the present employment of Puerto Ricans in the United States Armed Forces in the military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Lieutenant Colonel Teófilo Marxuach,, was the person who ordered the first shots fired in World War I on behalf of the United States on a German cargo liner trying to leave San Juan Bay without permission. Marxuach ordered shots from a machine gun, and from a gun in the Santa Rosa battery of the Castillo San Felipe del Morro, in what are considered to be the first shots of World War I fired by the regular armed forces of the United States against any ship of the Central Powers, forcing Odenwald to stop and to return to port.
Major General Juan César Cordero Dávila, was the commanding officer of the 65th Infantry Regiment during the Korean War, rising to become one of the highest ranking ethnic officers in the United States Army.
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Puerto Ricans and people of Puerto Rican descent have participated as members of the United States Armed Forces in the American Civil War and in every conflict which the United States has been involved since World War I. In World War II, more than 65,000 Puerto Rican 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.
Hispanic Americans, also referred to as Latinos, served in all elements of the American armed forces in the war. They fought in every major American battle in the war. Between 400,000 and 500,000 Hispanic Americans served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II, out of a total of 16,000,000, constituting 3.1% to 3.2% of the U.S. Armed Forces. The exact number is unknown as, at the time, Hispanics were not tabulated separately, but were included in the general white population census count. Separate statistics were kept for African Americans and Asian Americans.
Colonel Antulio Segarra Guiot was a United States Army officer who in 1943 became the first Puerto Rican in history to command a Regular Army Regiment. Segarra served as Military Aide to the Military Governor of Puerto Rico Theodore Roosevelt Jr. and during World War II commanded the 65th Infantry Regiment.
Commencing with World War I, 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. Accordingly, thousands of Puerto Ricans served in the Armed Forces of the United States during the Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War. Hundreds of them died, either killed in action (KIA) or while prisoners of war (POW). The Vietnam War started as a Cold War, and escalated into a military conflict that spread to Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1959 to April 30, 1975.
The 65th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed "The Borinqueneers" during the Korean War for the original Arawak Indian name for Puerto Rico (Borinquen), is a Puerto Rican regiment of the United States Army. The regiment's motto is Honor et Fidelitas, Latin for Honor and Fidelity. The Army Appropriation Bill created by an act of Congress on 2 March 1899 authorized the creation of the first body of native troops in Puerto Rico. On 30 June 1901, the "Porto Rico Provisional Regiment of Infantry" was organized. On 1 July 1908, Congress incorporated the regiment into the Regular Army as the Puerto Rico Regiment of Infantry, United States Army. On 14 May 1917, the regiment was activated and additional men were assigned, with the unit being sent to serve at Panama. On 4 June 1920, the regiment was renamed 65th Infantry. During World War II, the regiment saw action throughout Europe, especially France and Germany, participating in Naples-Foggia, Rome-Arno and Rhin. Several Purple Hearts were awarded posthumously to members of the 65th Regiment.
Antonio Santiago Rodríguez, nicknamed Tony the Marine, is an American Marine veteran, writer, and military historian from New York City, focused mostly on the military history of Puerto Rico and its service members.
Master Sergeant Juan E. Negrón Martínez was a member of the United States Army who served in the 65th Infantry Regiment during the Korean War. He was awarded a Distinguished Service Cross for his actions during combat in the Chinese Spring Offensive at Kalma-Eri, North Korea, on April 28, 1951, which was posthumously upgraded to the Medal of Honor in 2014.
The "Borinqueneers Congressional Gold Medal" is a Congressional Gold Medal awarded to Puerto Rico's 65th Infantry Regiment by President Barack Obama, at an official ceremony on June 10, 2014. On May 19, 2014, the United States House of Representatives passed the Bill, known as HR 1726 and three days later on May 22, 2014, the Senate approved Bill S. 1174. With the approval of both houses, the president signed the legislation which awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to the 65th Infantry, the first segregated Hispanic military unit, and the first unit of the Korean War, to receive such distinction.
Héctor Maisonave was a music entrepreneur and talent manager. During a sixty-year career, from 1954 through 2014, Maisonave organized over 7,000 Latin music concerts on five continents.