Hispanic and Latino Admirals in the United States Navy can trace their tradition of naval military service to the Latino sailors, who have served in the Navy in every war and conflict since the American Revolution. Prior to the Civil War, the highest rank reached by a Latino-American in the Navy was commodore. Such was the case of Commodore Uriah Phillips Levy (1792–1862), a Sephardic Jew of Latin American descent and great grandson of Dr. Samuel Nunez; [1] Levy served in the War of 1812. [2] [3] [4] During the American Civil War, the government of the United States recognized that the rapid expanding Navy was in need of admirals therefore, Congress proceeded to authorize the appointment of nine officers the rank of rear admiral. [5] [6] On July 16, 1862, Flag Officer David Glasgow Farragut became the first Hispanic-American to be appointed to the rank of rear admiral. [7] [8] Two years later (1864), Farragut became a vice admiral, and in 1866 the Navy's first full admiral. During World War I, Robert Lopez, the first Hispanic graduate of the United States Naval Academy, served with the rank of commodore in command of the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, and during World War II five Hispanics served with the ranks of rear admiral or above in either the European or Pacific Theaters of the war. As of April 2007, twenty-two Hispanic-Americans have reached the rank of admiral, and of this number thirteen were graduates of the USNA.
Admiral, a word that stems from Medieval Latin forms of the Arabic title emir ("commander"), [9] is the rank of the highest naval officers. Admirals are now the highest-ranking officers in the U.S. Navy, although from the American Revolution until 1862, the U.S. Navy had no admiral rank. [6] [10]
Hispanic American is an ethnic term employed to categorize any citizen or resident of the United States, of any racial background, of any country, and of any religion, who has at least one ancestor from the people of Spain or is of non-Hispanic origin, but has an ancestor from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central or South America, or some other Hispanic origin. The three largest Hispanic groups in the United States are the Mexican-Americans, Puerto Ricans and Cubans. [11] [12] [13]
Born on July 5, 1801, at Campbell's Station, near Knoxville, Tennessee, David Glasgow Farragut (born James Farragut) was the second son of Elizabeth Farragut and her husband Jorge Farragut Mesquida, a Spanish– by descent and a Minorquin by birth, who had emigrated to America in 1776. Jorge Farragut Mesquida served during the American Revolution. In 1808, Farragut's mother died from yellow fever and his father then gave him up for adoption. He was adopted by future-U.S. Navy Captain David Porter. [8]
Farragut entered the Navy as a midshipman on December 17, 1810. His first naval combat experience came in the War of 1812, when the ship to which he was assigned, the Essex, captured an enemy vessel and, at the age of 12 he was given the assignment to bring the ship safely to port. [8]
In April 1862, Farragut was the "flag officer" in command of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron. With his flagship, the Hartford, he ran past Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip and the Chalmette, Louisiana, batteries to take the city and port of New Orleans, Louisiana. This victory was an influential factor when in 1862, Congress created the rank of admiral and named Farragut and eight other naval officers (which also included his foster brother David Dixon Porter) as rear admirals. Thus, Farragut became the first Hispanic-American admiral in the United States Navy. [8]
Farragut's greatest victory was the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864. Mobile, Alabama, at the time was the Confederacy's last major port open on the Gulf of Mexico. The bay was heavily mined with tethered naval mines, also known as torpedoes. When the Tecumseh, one of the ships under his command, struck a mine and went down, Farragut shouted through a trumpet from his flagship to the Brooklyn, "What's the trouble?" "Torpedoes!" was the reply. Farragut then shouted his now famous words "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!" The fleet succeeded in entering the bay. Farragut then triumphed over the opposition of heavy batteries in Fort Morgan and Fort Gaines to defeat the squadron of Admiral Franklin Buchanan. [8] [14]
Farragut was promoted to vice admiral on December 21, 1864, and to full admiral (which at the time was three stars) on July 25, 1866, after the war, thereby becoming the first person to be named full admiral in the Navy's history. [15]
The United States Naval Academy (USNA) is an institution for the undergraduate education of officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps. The institution was founded as the Naval School in 1845 by Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft. [16]
The first Hispanic-American to graduate from the academy to reach the rank of admiral was Robert F. Lopez, class of 1879. Lopez was a Commodore during World War I, which technically made him the first Hispanic alumnus to become an admiral. [17] [18] [19] Commodore is an official flag rank when used during wartime and is equivalent to today's one-star admiral – rear admiral (lower half). Many rank systems only use this rank during wartime. [18] The first Hispanic alumnus, born outside of the United States mainland, to graduate from the academy and to reach the rank of admiral was Rear Admiral Frederick Lois Riefkohl, a Puerto Rican who graduated in the class of 1911. [18]
There are also some members of the Navy who reached the rank of admiral and who were not graduates of the Naval Academy. These were men who had earned specialized degrees and then chose to serve in the Navy. The following are the Hispanic admirals who are not alumni of the Academy.
His sea tours include command of the USS Rhode Island (SSBN 740 Blue) from March 2005 to March 2008. During this period, the ship was awarded two Battle Efficiency Awards for operational excellence and three Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet Retention Excellence Awards. DelToro also served as a division officer aboard USS Pittsburgh (SSN 720); engineer officer aboard USS Maine (SSBN 741 Blue), and executive officer aboard USS Salt Lake City (SSN 716), deploying to the Mediterranean, North Atlantic and Western Pacific, as well as conducting several strategic deterrent patrols. [52]
Ashore he served as Nuclear Propulsion Officer Candidate Program Manager at Navy Recruiting Command, Action Officer on the Joint Staff (J-8), and Non-nuclear Enlisted Community Manager at the Bureau of Personnel. DelToro also served as executive assistant to the Director, Submarine Warfare (N-97) for one year before entering the Acquisition Professional Community in 2009, where he served in a number of assistant program manager positions. DelToro served as the program manager for Undersea Defensive Warfare Systems from December 2011 to April 2015. During this period the program was awarded a Secretary of the Navy Excellence in Acquisition Award and a Coalition for Government Procurement Excellence in Partnership Award. He was the recipient of the 2013 Naval Submarine League’s Vice Admiral J. Guy Reynolds Award for Excellence in Submarine Acquisition. [52]
DelToro assumed command of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) in July 2015. In this position, he was responsible for leading more than 5,000 scientists, engineers, technicians and support personnel, both civilian and active duty, within two NUWC divisions. NUWC provides full spectrum research, development, test and evaluation, engineering, and fleet support for submarines, autonomous underwater systems, and offensive and defensive weapon systems associated with undersea warfare. [52]
Personal awards include the Legion of Merit (two awards), Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), and various other personal, campaign, and unit awards. [52]
As of April 2007 [update] , there are four admirals in the Navy of Hispanic descent. They are:
Horacio Rivero Jr., was the first Puerto Rican and Hispanic four-star admiral, and the second Hispanic to hold that rank in the modern United States Navy, after the American Civil War Admiral David Glasgow Farragut (1801–1870). After retiring from the Navy, Rivero served as the U.S. Ambassador to Spain (1972–1974), and was also the first Hispanic to hold that position.
The Naval Academy Preparatory School or NAPS is the preparatory school for the United States Naval Academy (USNA). NAPS is located on Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island. The mission of the Naval Academy Preparatory School is "To enhance Midshipman Candidates' moral, mental, and physical foundations to prepare them for success at the United States Naval Academy".
Admiral Samuel Shelburne Robison CB, USN was a United States Navy officer whose service extended from the 1890s through the early 1930s. He held several major commands during World War I, and from 1928 to 1931 served as Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy. In 1933, Admiral Robison also founded a Naval Preparatory Academy in Pine Beach, New Jersey called Admiral Farragut Academy.
Rear Admiral Frederick Lois Riefkohl, a native of Maunabo, Puerto Rico, was an officer in the United States Navy and the first Puerto Rican to graduate from the United States Naval Academy and to be awarded the Navy Cross. The Navy Cross is the second highest medal, after the Medal of Honor, that can be awarded by the U.S. Navy for heroism or distinguished service. He was a World War I Navy Cross recipient who served as Captain of the USS Vincennes during World War II.
Commodore was an early title and later a rank in the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard and the Confederate States Navy, and also has been a rank in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps and its ancestor organizations. For over two centuries, the designation has been given varying levels of authority and formality.
William Freeland Fullam was an officer in the United States Navy during World War I.
Rear Admiral Rafael Celestino Benítez was a highly decorated American submarine commander who led the rescue effort of the crew members of the USS Cochino during the Cold War. After retiring from the navy, he was Pan American World Airways' vice president for Latin America. He taught international law for 16 years at the University of Miami School of Law, and served as associate dean, interim dean and director and founder of the foreign graduate law program. While there, he founded the comparative law LL.M. program, the inter-American law LL.M. program, and the Inter-American Law Review. After his death, the university established a scholarship in his memory to benefit a foreign attorney who is enrolled in one of the Law School's LL.M. programs.
Eugene Parks "Dennis" Wilkinson was a United States Navy officer. He was selected for three historic command assignments. The first, in 1954, was as the first commanding officer of USS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear-powered submarine. The second was as the first commanding officer of USS Long Beach, America's first nuclear surface ship. The third was in 1980 when he was chosen as the first President and CEO of the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) from which he retired in 1984.
Captain Marion Frederic Ramirez de Arellano was a submarine commander in the United States Navy and the first Hispanic submarine commanding officer. He was awarded two Silver Stars, the Legion of Merit, and a Bronze Star for his actions against the Japanese Imperial Navy during World War II.
Puerto Ricans and people of Puerto Rican descent have participated as members of the United States Armed Forces in the American Civil War and in every conflict which the United States has been involved since World War I. In World War II, more than 65,000 Puerto Rican service members served in the war effort, including the guarding of U.S. military installations in the Caribbean and combat operations in the European and Pacific theatres.
Hispanics in the United States Naval Academy account for the largest minority group in the institution. According to the academy, the Class of 2009 includes 271 (22.2%) minority midshipmen. Out of these 271 midshipmen, 115 are of Hispanic heritage. In 2004, of the total of 736 female midshipmen, 74 (10%) of them were of Hispanic descent.
Rear Admiral George E. "Rico" Mayer is a retired United States Naval officer and Naval Aviator. At the time of his retirement, he was the first Puerto Rican Commander of the Naval Safety Center.
Bruce DeMars was a United States Navy four star admiral who served as Director, Naval Nuclear Propulsion from 1988 to 1996.
Hispanics in the United States Navy can trace their tradition of naval military service to men such as Lieutenant Jordi Farragut Mesquida, who served in the American Revolution. Hispanics, such as Seaman Philip Bazaar and Seaman John Ortega, have distinguished themselves in combat and have been awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration of the United States. Hispanics have also reached the top ranks of the navy, serving their country in sensitive leadership positions on domestic and foreign shores. Among those who have reached the highest ranks in the navy are Commodore Uriah Phillips Levy, of Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jewish descent, who participated in the War of 1812 as an assistant Sailing master; Admiral David Glasgow Farragut, for whom the rank of admiral in the U.S. Navy was created during the American Civil War; and Admiral Horacio Rivero, who led the navy during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
An engineering duty officer (EDO) is a restricted line officer in the United States Navy, involved with the design, acquisition, construction, repair, maintenance, conversion, overhaul and disposal of ships, submarines, aircraft carriers, and the systems installed aboard. As of August 1, 2016, there are approximately 835 engineering duty officers on active duty in the U.S. Navy, representing approximately 2 percent of its active-duty commissioned officers.
Hispanics in the United States Coast Guard can trace their tradition of service to the early 19th century, when they initially performed duties at light house stations as keepers and assistant keepers in its predecessor services. Hispanic is an ethnic term employed to categorize any citizen or resident of the United States, of any racial background, of any country, and of any religion, who has at least one ancestor from the people of Spain, or is of non-Hispanic origin, but has an ancestor from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central or South America, or some other Hispanic origin. The three largest Hispanic groups in the United States are the Mexican-Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans.
Admiral Charles Maynard "Savvy" Cooke Jr., USN, was a United States Navy four star admiral who saw service in World War I and World War II and later served as commander of United States Seventh Fleet (COMSEVENTHFLT) from 1946 to 1947 and commander of U.S. Naval Forces, Western Pacific (COMNAVWESPAC) from 1947 to 1948.
Willard Arthur Saunders was a highly decorated submarine commander in the United States Navy during World War II and later rear admiral. A graduate of the Naval Academy, he distinguished himself as commanding officer of the submarine Grayback on war patrols in early 1942; he was decorated with the Navy Cross, the United States' second-highest decoration awarded for valor in combat.
Howard Hartwell James Benson was a highly decorated officer in the United States Navy with the rank of Commodore. A son of Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral William S. Benson, he distinguished himself as commanding officer of the destroyer USS Roe during World War I and received the Navy Cross, the U.S. Navy's second-highest decoration awarded for valor in combat.
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