Title: History | Hispanics in the United States Army
Headings: 
History
Civil War
1861-1865
1850
Spanish-American War
1898
World War I
1914-1918
World War II
1939-1945
Korean War
1950-1953
Vietnam War
1959-1973
Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm
1990-1991
1950
Profiles
War Against Terrorism/Contigency Operations
2003-Present
2000

Content: World War I
1914-1918
In May 1917, two months after legislation granting United States citizenship to individuals born in Puerto Rico was signed into law, and one month after the United States entered World War I, the authorized unit of volunteer Soldiers were transferred to the Panama Canal Zone. U.S. Army policy at the time restricted most segregated units to noncombat roles, even though the regiment could have contributed to the fighting effort. According to House concurrent resolution 253, the U.S. Army had approximately 200,000 active personnel at the beginning of the war. An Act of Congress was passed in 1917 to obtain needed manpower, and the Hispanic community was eager to serve its country. They included both native-born Soldiers, mostly of Mexican descent, and new immigrants from Latin America, Mexico and Spain. In June 1920, the unit was re-designated as the 65th Infantry Regiment and served as the U.S. military's last segregated unit composed primarily of Hispanic Soldiers. [ 2]
Hispanic Soldiers like Nicholas Lucero and Marcelino Serna served with great distinction. Lucero received the French Croix de Guerre during World War I for destroying two German machine gun nests and maintaining constant fire for three hours. Serna received the Distinguished Service Cross for the single-handed capture of 24 enemy soldiers. 1900
World War II
1939-1945
In January 1943, 13 months after the attack on Pearl Harbor that marked the entry of the United States into World War II, the 65th Infantry Regiment again deployed to the Panama Canal Zone before deploying overseas during the spring of 1944.