Puerto Rican aviators were sent to the Tuskegee Army Air Field in Tuskegee, Alabama, to train the famed 99th Fighter Squadron of the Tuskegee Airmen. A few Puerto Ricans who served in either the Royal Canadian Air Force, the British Royal Air Force. Human experimentation Puerto Rican soldiers were subject to human experimentation by the United States Armed Forces. On Panama's San Jose Island, Puerto Rican soldiers were exposed to mustard gas to see if they reacted differently than their "white" counterparts. According to Susan L. Smith of the University of Alberta, the researchers were searching for evidence of race-based differences in the responses of the human body to mustard gas exposure. Demobilization The American participation in the Second World War came to an end in Europe on May 8, 1945, when the western Allies celebrated "V-E Day" (Victory in Europe Day) upon Germany's surrender, and in the Asian theater on August 14, 1945 "V-J Day" (Victory over Japan Day) when the Japanese surrendered by signing the Japanese Instrument of Surrender. Lieutenant Junior Grade Maria Rodriguez Denton (U.S. Navy), born in Guanica, Puerto Rico, was the first woman from Puerto Rico who became an officer in the United States Navy as member of the WAVES. It was LTJG Denton who forwarded the news (through channels) to President Harry S. Truman that the war had ended. On October 27, 1945, the 65th Infantry sailed home from France. Arriving at Puerto Rico on November 9, 1945, they were received by the local population as national heroes and given a victorious reception at the Military Terminal of Camp Buchanan. According to the book "Historia Militar De Puerto Rico" (Military history of Puerto Rico), by historian Col. Héctor Andrés Negroni, the men of the 65th Infantry were awarded the following military decorations: 2 Silver Stars, 22 Bronze Stars, and 90 Purple Hearts. The 295th Regiment returned on February 20, 1946, from the Panama Canal Zone, and the 296th Regiment on March 6. Both regiments were awarded the American Theater streamer and the Pacific Theater streamer. They were inactivated that same year. According to the 4th Report of the Director of Selective Service of 1948, a total of 51,438 Puerto Ricans served in the Armed Forces during World War II, however, the Department of Defense in its report titled "Number of Puerto Ricans serving in the U.S. Armed Forces during National Emergencies" stated that the