65th Infantry Regiment (United States) - Operation "PORTREX"

Operation "PORTREX"

The 65th Infantry Regiment distinguished itself when the United States conducted a military exercise code named "Operation PORTEX", meaning Puerto Rico Exercise, on the island of Vieques on the eve of the Korean War. The objective was to see how the combined forces of the Army, Marines, Navy and Air Force would do as liberators of an enemy captured territory (Vieques) against the aggressors. The core of the aggressor ground forces were made up of Hispanic soldiers, most of which belonged to the 65th Infantry Regiment.

The liberators consisted of 32,600 combat troops from the 82nd Airborne Division's 504th Airborne Infantry Regiment and the Marine Corps, who received support from the Navy and Air Force. Despite the large number of troops deployed, the 65th Infantry (the aggressor) was able to halt the offensive forces on the beaches of the island. Colonel William W. Harris, the commanding officer of the 65th, stated: "Stopping the assault forces at the water’s edge proved that the Puerto Ricans could hold their own against the best-trained soldiers that the United States Army could put into the field".

The successful military maneuvers during PORTREX prompted the Army's leadership to deploy the 65th Infantry to Korea.