Puerto Ricans Missing in Action - Vietnam War

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During the Vietnam War 17 Puerto Rican soldiers were among the 2,338 people listed as Missing in Action. This total does not include Puerto Ricans who were born in the mainland of the United States.^[1]

Puerto Rico was officially ceded to the United States from Spain under the terms of the 1898 Treaty of Paris which concluded the Spanish-American War. It is a United States territory and upon the outbreak of World War I, the U.S. Congress approved the Jones-Shafroth Act, which granted Puerto Ricans citizenship. As a result Puerto Ricans have participated in every major conflict involving the United States from World War I onward.^[2]

Thousands of Puerto Ricans participated in these conflicts. Many lived and returned to their homeland, others were less fortunate and either died as a result of a hostile enemy action or were listed as MIA (Missing In Action). Missing In Action (abbreviated MIA), is a term (dating from 1946) referring to a member of the armed services who is reported missing following a combat mission and whose status as to injury, capture, or death is unknown. The missing combatant must not have been otherwise accounted for as either killed in action or a prisoner of war. The Vietnam War was one of two major conflicts (The other one was the Korean War) which accounted for the most Puerto Ricans missing in action.^[3]

1 Vietnam War
2 Humberto Acosta-Rosario
3 Puerto Ricans Missing In Action
4 See also
5 References

[edit] Vietnam War

The Vietnam War, was a conflict between the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRVN, or North Vietnam) and the Republic of Vietnam (RVN, or South Vietnam), which eventually involved their respective allies. In 1959, the United States sent military advisors to train the South Vietnamese Army. By 1965, there were 25,000 military advisors in South Vietnam. The United States participation in the war continued to escalate until April 30, 1975 when the United States officially declared the war over. During the Vietnam War, an estimated 48,000 Puerto Ricans served in the four branches of the armed forces. Of a total of 345 Puerto Ricans who died in combat, 17 were MIA's. Of the 17 Puerto Rican MIA's, PFC. Humberto Acosta-Rosario is the only one whose body has never been recovered and is currently still listed as Missing In Action.^[4]

[edit] Humberto Acosta-Rosario

PFC. Humberto Acosta-Rosario (January 15, 1947-August 22, 1968) born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, was a member of Company B, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry (Mechanized); 25th Infantry Division, United States Army who currently the only Puerto Rican MIA whose body has never been recovered.



PFC Humberto Acosta-Rosario
(1947-1968)


Purple Heart

Born and raised in the city of Mayagüez, which is located in the western coast of Puerto Rico, Acosta-Rosario joined the Army after graduating from high school.

In 1968, Acosta-Rosario was ordered to South Vietnam and assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry (Mechanized); 25th Infantry Division. In his unit he served as a machine gunner.^[5]

On August 22, 1968, Acosta-Rosario, accompanied some members of his unit during a reconnaissance mission. His unit was attacked by North Vietnamese Army (NVA) regulars. In the vicinity of Ben Cui Rubber Plantation east of Tay Ninh City, Tay Ninh Province. His unit, Company B, was forced to withdraw from the battlefield under heavy enemy attack. The unit regrouped and discovered that PFC Acosta-Rosario and another machine gunner, PFC Philip T. DeLorenzo, Jr., were missing. Acosta-Rosario's platoon sergeant stated that he believed PFC Acosta-Rosario had been hit by enemy fire prior to the unit's withdrawal.^[6]

The NVA forces were driven back after artillery fire and helicopter gunships were called in and Company B returned to its original position. An extensive ground search was conducted by members of Company B for the two missing soldiers. The only body recovered was that of PFC DeLorenzo's along with the two M-60 machine guns. A search by two battalions who were brought in to sweep the area of only enemy activity did not produce Acosta-Rosario's body and he was officially listed as Missing in Action.^[7]

Friendly forces captured documents from the Vietnam People's Army 7th Infantry Division dated August 23, 1968. The documents were analyzed by US intelligence agencies. The reports documented that Humberto Acosta-Rosario was in fact captured by NVA forces during the battle near the Ben Cui Rubber Plantation. However, the US military chose not to upgrade his status to Prisoner of War.

Acosta-Rosario's name was listed in the USG's (United States Government} "Last Known Alive" list. This list was released by the U.S. Government on April 1991 and it contains the names of Prisoners of War and Missing in Action who were known to be alive in enemy hands and for whom there is no evidence that he or she died in captivity.^[8]

In March 1978, Acosta-Rosario was declared dead/body not recovered based on a presumptive finding of death.

PFc. Humberto Acosta-Rosario was posthumously promoted to the rank of Staff Sergeant. His name is on panel 47W, line 030 of the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. and he is also list in El Monumento de la Recordacion located in San Juan, Puerto Rico. There is a headstone with his name inscribed Plot: MB 0 6 of Puerto Rican National Cemetery in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.^[9]

[edit] Puerto Ricans Missing In Action

The following is a list with the names, ranks, units, place of birth, date and place of death and the date of birth of the Puerto Rican Vietnam MIA's:^[10]

ACOSTA-ROSARIO, HUMBERTO

SSGT ARMY, MAYAGUEZ, PR. DIED: 01MAR78, S.VIETNAM. DOB 15JAN47, HOSTILE, DIED-MISSING BNR

AUBAIN, JOSEPH AUGUSTINA

SP4 ARMY, SAN JUAN, PR. DIED: 28NOV71, S.VIETNAM. DOB 09OCT49, NON-HOS. DIED-MISS.

BURGOS TORRES, BENJAMIN

PFC ARMY, CAYEY, PR. DIED: 15FEB71, S.VIETNAM. DOB 23AUG50, HOSTILE, DIED-MISSING

GUZMAN-RIOS, ANTONIO

SP4 ARMY, COROZAL, PR. DIED: 12MAY68, S.VIETNAM. DOB 09APR45, HOSTILE, DIED-MISSING

IRIZARRY-HERNANDEZ, ANGEL

SP6 ARMY, HATO REY, PR. DIED: 13OCT67, S.VIETNAM. DOB 02OCT43, HOSTILE, DIED-MISSING

KUILAN, WENCESLEO

SSGT ARMY, BAYAMON, PR. DIED: 25JAN66, S.VIETNAM. DOB 28SEP29, NON-HOS. DIED-MISS.

MALDONADO-TORRES, LIONEL

CPL ARMY, JUANA DIAZ, PR. DIED: 17SEP68, S.VIETNAM. DOB 21APR49, HOSTILE, DIED-MISSING

MARQUEZ-LOPEZ, LUIS MANUEL

SFC ARMY, GUAYAMA, PR. DIED: 13DEC67, S.VIETNAM. DOB 20JUL27, HOSTILE, DIED-MISSING

MARTINEZ-ZAYAS, RUBEN

CPL ARMY, SALINAS, PR. DIED: 26AUG70, S.VIETNAM. DOB 21FEB51, HOSTILE, DIED-MISSING

MEDINA-TORRES, VINCENTE

MSGT ARMY, SAN JUAN, PR. DIED: 06APR67, S.VIETNAM. DOB 22JAN25, NON-HOS. DIED-MISS.

MIRANDA-ORTIZ, JOSE LUIS

SSGT ARMY, RIO PIEDRAS, PR. DIED: 30NOV67, S.VIETNAM. DOB 28JAN36, NON-HOS. DIED-MISS.

ORTIZ, JOSE HECTOR

1LT AIR FORCE, ROLLING HILLS, PR. DIED: 29APR70, S.VIETNAM. DOB 08SEP46, HOSTILE, DIED-MISSING

ORTIZ-RODRIGUEZ, ANGEL

SGT ARMY, PR. DIED: 09MAR67, S.VIETNAM. DOB 01MAY41, HOSTILE, DIED-MISSING

QUINONES-BORRAS, NICHOLAS

MAJ ARMY, SANTURCE, PR. DIED: 05JUN72, S.VIETNAM. DOB 30APR35, NON-HOS. DIED-MISS.

RAMOS, ARMANDO

SFC ARMY, SANTURCE, PR. DIED: 04OCT66, S.VIETNAM. DOB 01JAN21, NON-HOS. DIED-MISS.

ROSADO-RODRIGUEZ, EUGENIO

PFC ARMY, PONCE, PR. DIED: 19JUL66, S.VIETNAM. DOB 30OCT43, HOSTILE, DIED-MISSING

VADI RODRIGUEZ, ALBERTO

SP5 ARMY, SAN JUAN, PR. DIED: 17MAR72, S.VIETNAM. DOB 04MAR50, NON-HOS. DIED-MISS.

Their names are inscribed in both the Vietnam Memorial located in Washington, D.C. and El Monumento de la Recordacion located in San Juan, Puerto Rico. ^[11]^[12]