SOLDIERS OF THE NATION Studies in War, Society, and the Military general editors Kara Dixon Vuic Texas Christian University Richard S. Fogarty University at Albany, State University of New York editorial board Peter Maslowski University of Nebraska– Lincoln David Graff Kansas State University Reina Pennington Norwich University SOLDIERS OF THE N ATION Military Service and Modern Puerto Rico, 1868– 1952 HARRY FRANQUI- RIVERA UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA PRESS | LINCOLN AND LONDON © 2018 by the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska Parts of chapter 3 were previously published in “A New Day Has Dawned for Porto Rico’s Śibaro: Manhood, Race, Military Service, and Self-Government during World War I,” Latino Studies 13, no. 2 (2015): 185–206. All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-i n- Publication Data Title: Soldiers of the nation: military service and modern Puerto Rico,1868– 1952 / Harry Franqui- Rivera. Other titles: Military service and modern Puerto Rico, 1868– 1952 Description: Lincoln ne: University of Nebraska Press, [2018] | Series: Studies in war, society, and the military Identifiers: lccn 2017052571 isbn 9780803278677 (cloth: alk. paper) isbn 9781496205445 (epub) isbn 9781496205452 (mobi) isbn 9781496205469 (pdf) Subjects: lcsh: Puerto Rico— Military relations— United States. | United States— Military relations— Puerto Rico. | Puerto Rico— History— 1898– 1952. | Soldiers— Puerto Rico— History. | Puerto Rico— History, Military. Classification: lcc e183.8.p9 s67 2018 | ddc 355/.0310973097295— dc23 lc record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017052571 Set in Janson Text LT Pro by E. Cuddy. To all Puerto Rican soldiers and veterans, whose contribution to Puerto Rican history and the American experience has been largely ignored. CONTENTS List of Illustrations | ix Acknowledgments | xi Introduction | xiii 1. Birth of a Nation: A Labor of Thirty Years, 1868–1 898 | 1 2. Puerto Rican a la Americana: A Hearts and Minds Campaign, 1898– 1914 | 35 3. A New Day Has Dawned: World War I and Mobilization of the Peasant | 63 4. War against the Yankees! Prelude to the Battle over Modern Puerto Rico | 97 5. Education, Industrialization, and Decolonization: The Battlefields of World War II | 127 6. Fighting for the “Nation”? War at Home and Abroad | 169 Conclusion | 199 Notes | 215 Bibliography | 283 Index | 295 ILLUSTRATIONS 1. “Porto Ricans” in American Colonial Army on El Morro Castle’s parade field, 1899 | 48 2. Porto Rico Provisional Regiment of Infantry parades before the Teatro Tapia in San Juan, ca. 1903 | 56 3. Soldiers of the 65th Infantry repair phone lines in Caguas, P.R. | 144 4. Club Damas de Puerto Rico supports the war effort | 147 5. Vocational training for Puerto Rican soldiers during World War II | 154 6. “Industrialization needs us.” “Puerto Rico needs electricians.” | 159 7. Puerto Rico National Guardsman and Insular Police officer during Nationalist uprising | 176 8. Chaplain blesses a Puerto Rican flag in Korea | 191 9. Flag of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico presented to the 65th Infantry Regiment, 3rd U.S. Infantry Division, in Korea | 192 10. Puerto Rican soldiers serving with the 65th Infantry in Korea hold the Puerto Rican flag, fall 1952 | 193