Discusses Operation Portrex, or “Puerto Rico Exercise”, a Joint Airborne-Amphibious training exercise on Vieques Island off Puerto Rico on the eve of the Korean War. The exercise involved the U.S. 65th Infantry Regiment (Aggressor Forces), mostly Hispanic soldiers, against the 82nd Airborne Div, 504th Airborne Infantry Regiment (Liberating Forces). The successful military maneuvers during Protrex prompted the Army’s leadership to deploy the 65th Infantry to Korea. Paratroopers jump from flight of C-119 aircraft. Landing craft discharge troops on the Vieques Island beachhead. Marine holds ‘wounded Marine’ tag. Vehicles of the ‘Liberating Forces’ had trouble advancing off the beachhead. Soldier uncovers and removes ‘dummy’ mine. Shows tank obstacles erected by the Aggressor Forces.

The 65th Infantry Regiment distinguished itself during “Operation PORTREX”. The objective was to see how the combined forces of the Army, Marines, Navy, and Air Force would do as “liberators” of an enemy captured territory (Vieques) against the “aggressors.” The core of the aggressor ground forces were made up of Puerto Rican soldiers, most of whom belonged to the 65th Infantry Regiment. The liberators consisted of 32,600 combat troops from the 82nd Airborne Division’s 504th Airborne Infantry Regiment and the Marine Corps, who received support from the Navy and Air Force. Despite the large number of troops deployed, the 65th Infantry (the aggressor) was able to halt the offensive forces on the beaches of the island. Colonel William W. Harris, the commanding officer of the 65th, stated: “Stopping the assault forces at the water’s edge proved that the Puerto Ricans could hold their own against the best-trained soldiers that the United States Army could put into the field.” The successful military maneuvers during PORTREX prompted the Army’s leadership to deploy the 65th Infantry to Korea.