Nydia M. Velazquez (D-NY) introduced a coin bill in the House of Representatives ("House") in March 1996 (104th Congress) that called for "the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of all the brave and gallant Puerto Ricans in the 65th Infantry Regiment of the United States Army who fought in the Korean conflict."
The bill sought to honor these soldiers via a commemorative Silver Dollar - up to 60,000 were requested. The proposed mintage limit was quite low compared to other modern commemorative Silver Dollar proposals, but such a low figure would likely have generated "extra" interest in the coin and caused a scramble among collectors to obtain one at its release!
Representative Velazquez was born in Puerto Rico and devoted years of her professional/political life to supporting Puerto Rico and its citizens in the United States and Puerto Rico. As such, her sponsorship of such a coin bill was a natural fit.
The bill included a fairly extensive "Findings Section" that laid the foundation for the commemorative coin proposal:
The Congress hereby finds that the brave and gallant soldiers from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico who comprised the 65th Infantry Regiment of the United States Army deserve a special commemoration and a commemorative coin for their contributions during the Korean conflict for the following reasons:
(1) The Puerto Rican soldiers of the 65th Infantry Regiment unselfishly fought, bled, and died for the rights and privileges of all citizens of the United States and the Republic of Korea.
(2) 125 soldiers of the United States Army's 65th Infantry Regiment were awarded the Silver Star and 4 received the Distinguished Service Cross for their heroism during the Korean conflict.
(3) The 65th Infantry Regiment went to the rescue of the 1st Division of the United States Marine Corps in Hagaru-ri when that division was surrounded by forces of the Peoples Republic of China, provided a safe corridor through which the Marines escaped, and formed a protective rear guard during the retreat to Hungnam.
(4) After bitter fighting, and with the forces of the Peoples Republic of China on their heels, the 65th Infantry Regiment was the last regiment to leave the beachhead in the Christmas eve evacuation of Hungnam on December 24, 1950.
(5) One night, while the 65th Infantry Regiment was encamped near the command post of the 3d Infantry Division of the United States Army during a rest and recreation leave away from the front lines, the command post of the 3d Infantry Division was attacked by over 1,000 North Korean soldiers who had infiltrated through the front lines without being detected and the 65th Infantry Regiment rallied, attacked, and subsequently destroyed the North Korean force, thereby saving the commanding officer and staff of the 3d Infantry Division from death or capture.
(6) For their heroism in battle, the soldiers of the 65th Infantry Division were showered with many accolades but for them perhaps the most significant and meaningful came in the form of a letter from the commander of the United Nations forces in Korea, General of the Army Douglas MacArthur which read in part as follows:
"The Puerto Ricans forming the ranks of the gallant 65th Infantry Division on the battlefields of Korea by valor, determination and a resolute will to victory give daily testament to their invincible loyalty to the United States and the fervor of their devotion to those immutable standards of human relations to which the Americans and the Puerto Ricans are in common dedicated. They are writing a brilliant record of achievement in battle and I am proud indeed to have them in this command. I wish that we might have many more like them."The Silver Dollars were to be struck in Proof and Uncirculated versions during Calendar Year 1997; the coins were to bear the "1997" date.
Regarding the coin's designs, the bill specified only that they "be emblematic of the courage and valor of the Puerto Ricans who served in the 65th Infantry Regiment during the Korean conflict" and that they were to include the standard inscriptions.
The final designs were to be selected by the Secretary of the Treasury after consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the National Congress for Puerto Rican Veterans, the Puerto Rican Veterans In Massachusetts Association and the Puerto Rican-American Research Institute, along with the Commission of Fine Arts. The Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee (CCCAC) was to serve in a reviewing role.
The Issue Price of the Silver Dollars was to include a surcharge of $10 per coin. The collected surcharge funds were to be paid to the Korean War Veterans Memorial Fund for use by the American Battle Monuments Commission to:
a) Support the Korean War Veterans Memorial, and
b) to help defray the expenses of a ceremony at the Memorial for the 65th Infantry Regiment of the US Army.
The bill was referred to the House Committee on Banking and Financial Services, with a further referral to the Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy. It was not reported out of Committee, however, nor considered further by the House.
In the 105th Congress, Representative Velazquez re-introduced her coin bill. It was essentially the same as her previous bill, with an update to "1999" for the year of coining authority and date to appear on the coins.
The new bill suffered the same fate as the previous bill - it did not get reported out of Committee nor receive consideration in the House.
I'm happy to report that the failure of these bills did not prevent the construction of the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC. It was authorized by Congress in 1986, constructed between 1992 and 1995 and dedicated on July 27, 1995. (Its Memorial Wall was added in 2022.) Funds generated through the sales of the proposed 65th Regiment coins would have been in support of
ongoing operations with a particular focus as the Memorial was already receiving visitors by the time the coin was proposed; the Memorial honored Korean War Veterans beyond the scope of the Puerto Rican soldiers who participated.
Aerial View of Korean War Veterans Memorial
Ground-Level View of Walking Soldiers
(Images Credit: US National Park Service. Public Domain.)You can learn more about the Korean War Veterans Memorial by visiting its web site at:
US NPS Korean War Veterans Memorial Web SiteFor other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including other What If? stories, see:
Commems Collection.
Posted 08/21/2025 11:21 am
That makes much more sense and was a very worthy recognition.
