Hispanics in the U.S. Military
Men and women of Hispanics descent have served in every major military conflict in the history of the United States; and have been awarded 42 Congressional Medals of Honor for distinguished service in United States wars, receiving more of these awards than any other ethnic group.
There are approximately 1,300,000 living Hispanic veterans in the United States.
As of August 2006, over 210,000 service members of Hispanic descent were serving in the United States military and more than 400 Hispanics have died in Afghanistan and Iraq as of June 2007.
Close to 20,000 Hispanic Americans participated in the Persian Gulf War and 26 Hispanic service members died in combat during that war.
During the Vietnam War, more than 80,000 Hispanic Americans served in the United States Armed Forces, over 3,000 Hispanic Americans died in combat, and 16 Hispanic Americans were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Nearly 150,000 Hispanic Americans served in the Korean War, 8 Hispanic officers were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
The Puerto Rican 65th Infantry Regiment was the only all Hispanic unit in the Korean War, and while serving with distinction, earned 4 Distinguished Service Crosses and 124 Silver Stars and is credited with the last recorded battalion sized bayonet assault in the history of the United States Army.
A total of 6 Hispanic Americans were flying aces in World War II and the Korean War.
400,000 to 500,000 Hispanic service members served in the United States Armed Forces during World War II, 13 Hispanic service members were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
In World War I, approximately 200,000 Hispanic Americans were mobilized, the majority of Mexican descent.
3 Mexican Americans were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor during the Civil War.
Approximately 10,000 Mexican Americans, including women, served in the regular Army during the Civil War and in the volunteer units of the Union and the Confederacy.
During the War of 1812, Hispanic American troops in Louisiana and the surrounding areas were instrumental in General Andrew Jackson’s defeat of the British.
The first Hispanic involvement in America’s military history was during the Revolutionary War in 1777.
In the decisive Battle of Yorktown, 4,000 Spanish, Puerto Rican, and Cuban soldiers were killed and wounded in the defeat of British forces.
Source/Fuente: Quoted from 110TH CONGRESS, 1ST SESSION, H. CON. RES. 253
RSS 2.0 Feed
Podcast Feed
