The United States Department of Defense estimated that approximately there were 18 Puerto Ricans missing in action in the Vietnam War, from a total of 2,338 people that were listed as Missing in Action. This total, with the exception of PFC. Jose Ramon Sanchez, does not include people of Puerto Rican descent 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 war involving the United States from World War I onward.[2]
Thousands of Puerto Ricans participated in these wars. 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.[3] The Vietnam War was one of two wars (the other was the Korean War) which accounted for the most Puerto Ricans missing in action.[4]
The Vietnam War was 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.."[5] 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.[6] Of a total of 345 Puerto Ricans who died in combat, 18 were listed as MIA's. They were all members of the Army with the exceptions of First Lieutenant Jose Hector Ortiz who was the only Puerto Rican MIA member of the United States Air Force and PFC Jose R. Sanchez who was a member of the United States Marine Corps. Of the 18 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.[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 in 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]
The following is a list with the names, ranks, date and place of birth and the date that the person was listed as MIA:[10]
| Name | Rank | Date of birth | Place of birth | MIA Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acosta-Rosario, Humberto | Staff Sergeant | January 15, 1947 | Mayagüez, Puerto Rico | March 1, 1968 |
| Aubain, Joseph Augustín | Specialist 4 | October 9, 1949 | San Juan, Puerto Rico | November 28, 1971 |
| Burgos Torres, Benjamín | Private First Class | August 23, 1950 | Cayey, Puerto Rico | February 15, 1971 |
| Guzmán-Ríos, Antonio | Specialist 4 | April 9, 1945 | Corozal, Puerto Rico | May 12, 1968 |
| Irizarry-Hernández, Ángel | Specialist 6 | October 2, 1943 | Hato Rey, Puerto Rico | October 13, 1967 |
| Kuilan, Wenceslao | Staff Sergeant | September 28, 1929 | Bayamón, Puerto Rico | January 25, 1966 |
| Maldonado-Torres, Lionel | Corporal | April 21, 1949 | Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico | September 17, 1968 |
| Márquez-López, Luis Manuel | Sergeant First Class | July 20, 1927 | Guayama, Puerto Rico | December 13, 1967 |
| Martínez-Zayas, Rubén | Corporal | February 21, 1951 | Salinas, Puerto Rico | August 26, 1970 |
| Medina-Torres, Vincente | Master Sergeant | January 22, 1925 | San Juan, Puerto Rico | April 6, 1967 |
| Miranda-Ortiz, José Luis | Staff Sergeant | January 28, 1936 | Río Piedras, Puerto Rico | November 30, 1967 |
| Ortiz, José Héctor | First Lieutenant | September 8, 1946 | Carolina, Puerto Rico | April 29, 1970 |
| Ortiz-Rodríguez, Ángel | Sergeant | May 1, 1941 | Puerto Rico | March 9, 1967 |
| Quiñones-Borrás, Nicholas | Major | April 30, 1935 | Santurce, Puerto Rico | June 5, 1972 |
| Ramos, Armando | Sergeant First Class | January 1, 1921 | Santurce, Puerto Rico | October 4, 1966 |
| Rosado-Rodríguez, Eugenio | Private First Class | October 30, 1943 | Ponce, Puerto Rico | July 19, 1966 |
| Sanchez, Jose Ramon | Private First Class | March 15, 1949 | Brooklyn, N.Y. | June 6, 1968 |
| Vadi Rodríguez, Alberto | Specialist 5 | March 4, 1950 | San Juan, Puerto Rico | March 17, 1972 |