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Finally, the legacy of the Borinqueneers, from the 65th Infantry Regiment, will never be forgotten. Luis A. Cortes, Commander of DAV KEL-LAC Chapter #114, Helotes, Texas and CEO/Director of Cortes’ Disabled Veterans and Alliance Inc., campaigned for the last six years to recognize the U.S. Army Borinqueneers, an all Latino, and mostly Puerto Rican, infantry regiment for their service and sacrifices for this nation. The campaign was met with quick success! Texas legislators passed House Bill 912 which will lead to the production of the first Borinqueneers specialty license plates in the entire U.S., PR, and the Virgin Islands. Governor Greg Abbott signed the bill into a law on June 9, 2021 and became effective on September 1, 2021. Now that it is a law, starting today, Dec 20, 2021, recipients of the Borinqueneers Congressional Gold Medal and their unmarried widows will be eligible as well to receive one free set of license plates under the military meritorious license plates TX statute if they meet all of the requirements. Also, if they qualify for DV plates they will receive one set of DV license plates for $3.00 (for the first set) under the disabled veterans license plates TX statute. The spouses licence plate will be different in that it will not have the medal depicted on the DV plates, instead it will say, “Surviving Spouse of Disabled Veteran”.
The actions taken by everyone involved in this endeavor, will honor the Borinqueneers for centuries to come for their honorable and resilient military service. This accomplishment came after six years of hard work from DAV KEL-LAC Chapter # 114 members and the Cortes’ Disabled Veterans and Alliance Inc. board of directors, after being spearheaded by Cmdr. Cortes.
Cmdr. Cortes’s quote to us was that, “helping veterans and their families isn’t a one man mission.” He also commented that this law, “was the result of hard work and support from Adjutant Noraliz Maysonet-Carvajal, 1st Jr. Vice Commander Edward Salinas, and Texas politicians like Representative Dr. Philip Cortez and Senator José Menéndez who always care about veteran related issues.”
The regiment was authorized by Congressional decree in 1899 and first organized in 1901, in which it was comprised of Puerto Rican soldiers. It became the 65th Army Regiment to use the motto “Honor et Fidelitas”, Latin for Honor and Fidelity. This motto was displayed throughout the regiment’s service in WW1, WW2, and the Korean War. On June 10, 2014, the 65th Infantry was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for their honorable service.
TX HB 912 Law Information
https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/history.aspx?LegSess=87R&Bill=HB912
TX DMV FORMS
TX Borinqueneers DV License Plates Application Link:
https://d3eaozktcyljdh.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/form_files/VTR-615.pdf
TX Borinqueneers Meritorious License Plates Application Link:
https://d3eaozktcyljdh.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/form_files/VTR-421.pdf
About Luis A. Cortes
Luis A. Cortes is a passionate advocate for veteran’s issues. His responsibilities include being the Commander of DAV KEL-LAC Chapter #114, Helotes, Texas and CEO/Director of Cortes’ Disabled Veterans and Alliance Inc.
