🇵🇷 65th Infantry Regiment "Borinqueneers" Anti-Air Squad

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:puerto_rico:A very Brief History :puerto_rico:

Puerto Rico became a U.S. Territory after the 1898 Treaty of Paris which ended the Spanish–American War. On 24 March 1899, the General Commander of the Puerto Rico Department, Mayor General Guy V. Henry ordered the creation of the “Porto” Rico Battalion of Volunteer Infantry which later became the 65th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed “Borinqueneers” after their Homeland’s native name, Borinquen.

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Borinqueneers take a Pause to eat during a training excercise in Salinas, Puerto Rico

In December 1944, the 3rd Battalion of the 65th Infantry Regiment faced the German 34th Infantry Division’s 107th Grenadier Regiment. They suffered a total of 47 battle casualties. The first two Puerto Ricans to be killed in action from the 65th Infantry were Pvt. Sergio Sánchez-Sánchez and Sgt. Ángel Martínez, from the town of Sabana Grande. On 18 March 1945, the regiment was sent to the District of Mannheim, Germany and assigned to Military Government activities, anti-sabotage and security missions. In all, the 65th Infantry participated in the campaigns of Rome-Arno, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe.(Captain Shelby L. Stanton, U.S. Army Special Forces (Retired) World War II Order Of Battle-Revised Edition.)

Weapons and Specialization

Weapons

There is no indication that the Borinqueneers where issued anything else other than the standard issue weaponry of the US Army at the time of their tours in Europe. However, I would like to see them equipped with the T26 aka “Tanker Garand”
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One of the key roles of the 65th was to provide security for allied airfields, for this reason I suggest that the squad compossition would consist of:
5 riflemen
1 engineer with the ability to build an M45 .50 cal AA gun aka Meat Chopper.
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As an extra, they could recieve a machete as a melee weapon.
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There is no evidence that they men of the 65th carried this into battle during ww2, however the machete is deeply linked with the Puerto Rican identity and it is a symbol of the struggle of the Puerto Rican people.

Cosmetics

The squad could be the first apprearance of non-white Hispanics in the game. Personally I do not care about DEI however I think this would be an appropriate way of including latin soldiers, specifically Puerto Ricans, in the game.

Insignia

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“Honor and Faithfulness”

Uniforms

The squad could be visually distinguished by the emblem painted on their M1 Helmets…

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or by the use of a Campaign Hat with the unit crest front and center.
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Thank you for reading this far!

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Love that insignia ngl

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It looks very cool

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More nations represented in the game are always welcome

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Its not a new nation. The 65th is part of the US Army, It used to be a segregated unit tho.

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In ru segment of the forum a similar topic was raised, but about the participation of Latin Americans against the Axis on the side of the Allies

This thread

"Курящие Змеи" и "Ацтекские Орлы" - Предложения - Enlisted

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I support this idea, thanks for sharing.

I welcome as many Allied nations to the game as possible, where appropriate.

Occasionally we see calls for ‘diversity’ in game but rarely do these acknowledge the instances such as your post where that would actually make sense and be good to gain recognition for all veterans.

Id also note partisan squads open the possibility of female ‘soldiers’. For example Nancy Wake, an Australian who fought with the French Resistance (yes she actually fought Germans in combat as per the Australian War Memorial). She was known as ‘the white mouse’.

I know Yugoslavian partisans also frequently had men and women in their ranks.

Ive also been asking for Australian and New Zealand soldiers be added (at minimum uniforms for them), to coincide with premium squads for Maori and Australian Aboriginal soldiers.

Some people have suggested adding black and Hispanic faces as appearance options to American squads, to which others retort that these were always segregated. That is true historically, personally I think it doesnt matter if players have white and black for example soldiers in the same squad because when youre actually in battle everyones squads are everywhere. It would also remain merely an option for players (as opposed a Battlefield V situation…)

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Thank you for your kind words of support.

Puerto Rico is not a different Nation than the United States. These men were in the US Army but the unit was segregated.

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