Puerto Rican women in the military

Last updated

Hila Levy.jpg
Hila Levy
FrancesM.Vega.JPG
Frances M. Vega
Aleina Ramirez Gonzalez2.jpg
Aleina Ramirez Gonzalez

Two of the least-known roles played by Puerto Rican women and women of Puerto Rican descent have been that of soldier and that of revolutionary. This is a brief account of some the Puerto Rican women who have participated in military actions as members of either a political revolutionary movement or of the Armed Forces of the United States.

Contents

Background

When Puerto Rico was a Spanish Colony, Puerto Rican women were commonly known for their roles as mothers and housekeepers. Women's rights were unheard of and their contributions to the islands' society were limited.

However, during the 19th century women in Puerto Rico began to express themselves through their literary work. Among these women was María Bibiana Benítez, Puerto Rico's first woman poet and playwright. In 1832, she published her first poem La Ninfa de Puerto Rico (The Nymph of Puerto Rico) [1] and her niece, Alejandrina Benitez de Gautier, whose own Aguinaldo Puertorriqueño (Ode to Puerto Rico) would be published in 1843, recognized her as one of the island's great poets. [2]

During the 20th century, some of the women in the island became active as union organizers, such as Luisa Capetillo [3] and involved in politics, as was the case of Felisa Rincón de Gautier. [4]

Even though women in the past had actively participated in the revolt against Spain, it wouldn't be until the United States entered World War II that the military would open its doors to Puerto Rican women.

La Rogativa

According to a Puerto Rican legend, British troops were laying siege to San Juan, Puerto Rico on the night of April 30, 1797. The townswomen, led by a bishop, formed a rogativa (prayer procession) and marched throughout the streets of the city - singing hymns, carrying torches, and praying for the deliverance of the city. [5]

Outside the walls, particularly from the sea, the British navy mistook this torch-lit religious parade for the arrival of Spanish reinforcements. When morning arrived, the British were gone from the island, and the city was saved from a possible invasion. [5]

Four statues sculpted by Lindsay Daen, in the Plazuela de la Rogativa (Rogativa Plaza) in Old San Juan, pay tribute to the bishop and townswomen who participated in La Rogativa. [6]

Revolt against Spain

Mariana Bracetti Mariana Bracetti.jpg
Mariana Bracetti

The first Puerto Rican woman to become an Independentista, who struggled for Puerto Rico's independence from Spanish colonialism, was María de las Mercedes Barbudo. Joining forces with the Venezuelan government, under the leadership of Simon Bolivar, Barbudo organized an insurrection against the Spaniards in Puerto Rico. [7] However, her plans were discovered by the Spanish authorities—she was arrested and exiled from Puerto Rico, never to return.

Puerto Rico witnessed other slave revolts and calls for independence from Spain, but none compared to what became known as El Grito de Lares . This was organized by a group of prominent Puerto Ricans led by Dr. Ramón Emeterio Betances and Segundo Ruiz Belvis. Hundreds of men and women—and even slaves—participated in the uprising. [8]
Of all the women who participated in the revolt, two became part of Puerto Rican legend and lore:

Lola Rodríguez de Tio believed in equal rights for women, the abolition of slavery, and she actively participated in the Puerto Rican Independence Movement. Inspired by Ramón Emeterio Betances's quest for Puerto Rican independence and by the Grito de Lares, she wrote the lyrics to the national anthem of Puerto Rico, La Borinqueña . [9]
Mariana Bracetti , also known as Brazo de Oro (Golden Arm), was the sister-in-law of revolution leader Manuel Rojas. Bracetti knitted the first Puerto Rican flag: the Lares Revolutionary Flag, [10] taking into consideration suggestions made by Betances. Upon the failure of the revolution, Bracetti was imprisoned in Arecibo along with the other survivors, and later released.

World War I

Spain ceded Puerto Rico to the United States in accordance with the agreement reached in the 1898 Treaty of Paris, which officially ended the Spanish–American War. On March 2, 1917, with the advent of World War I, U.S. citizenship was imposed on Puerto Ricans as a result of the passage if the Jones–Shafroth Act (the Puerto Rican House of Delegates rejected US citizenship). [11] Two months later, when Congress passed the Selective Service Act, conscription was extended to the island. Those who were eligible, with the exception of women, were expected to serve in the military. About 20,000 Puerto Rican men were drafted during World War I. [12] [13]

By 1918, the U.S. Army Medical Corps realized there was a shortage of medical anesthesiologists, a low-salary specialty required in military operating rooms. Therefore, the Army reluctantly began hiring women physicians as civilian contract employees. One of the first civilian doctors contracted by the Army was a Puerto Rican woman, who despite the fact that she was not an active member of the military, contributed with her professional skills to the war effort. [13]

Dr. Dolores Piñero , born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, was the first Puerto Rican woman doctor to serve in the Army under contract. In 1913, Dr. Piñero had earned her medical degree from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Boston, Massachusetts. She set up her medical and anesthesia practice in what was then the town of Río Piedras (it is now a section of San Juan). Upon the outbreak of World War I, she applied for a contract surgeon position, only to be turned down. After writing a letter to the Army Surgeon General in Washington, D.C. explaining her intentions, she received a telegram ordering her to report to Camp Las Casas at Santurce, Puerto Rico. In October 1918, she signed her contract with the Army. [13]

Piñero was reassigned to the Army General Hospital of Fort Brooke, located in the former Ballajá Barracks (in the grounds of the Fort San Felipe del Morro) in Old San Juan. There she worked as an anesthesiologist during the mornings, and in the laboratory during the afternoons. Piñero and four male colleagues received orders to open a 400-bed hospital in Ponce, Puerto Rico, to care for the patients who had been infected with influenza, known also as "the Spanish flu". Among the nurses who served in Ponce with Piñero was Rosa A. González , a registered nurse who authored The Nurses Medical Dictionary. [14] The Spanish flu had swept through Army camps and training posts around the world, infecting one quarter of all soldiers and killing more than 55,000 American troops. [15] After the flu epidemic ended, Piñero was ordered back to the Army base hospital at San Juan. [13]

World War II

Puerto Rican members of the WAC's. Puerto Rican WACs.jpg
Puerto Rican members of the WAC's.

When the United States entered World War II, the military was in need of nurses. Puerto Rican nurses wanted to volunteer for service, however they were not accepted into the Army or Navy Nurse Corps. As a result, many of the island's women work force migrated to the mainland U.S. to work in the factories which produced military equipment.

In 1944, the Army sent recruiters to the island to recruit no more than 200 women for the Women's Army Corps (WAC). Over 1,000 applications were received for the unit which was to be composed of only 200 women. The Puerto Rican WAC unit, Company 6, 2nd Battalion, 21st Regiment of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, a segregated Hispanic unit, was assigned to the New York Port of Embarkation, after their basic training at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. They were assigned to work in military offices which planned the shipment of troops around the world. [16]

Puerto Rican Army nurses, 296th Station Hospital, Camp Tortuguero, Vega Baja, PR. PRNT.jpg
Puerto Rican Army nurses, 296th Station Hospital, Camp Tortuguero, Vega Baja, PR.

Among them was PFC Carmen García Rosado , who in 2006, authored and published a book titled Las WACS: Participacion de la Mujer Boricua en la Segunda Guerra Mundial (The WACs: Participation of Puerto Rican Women in the Second World War), the first book to document the experiences of the first 200 Puerto Rican women who participated in said conflict. [17]

According to García Rosado, one of the principal hardships endured by Puerto Rican military women was racial discrimination, which was rampant throughout the U.S. at the time. [17]

That same year the Army Nurse Corps (ANC) decided to accept Puerto Rican nurses. Thirteen women submitted applications, were interviewed, underwent physical examinations, and were accepted into the ANC. Eight of these nurses were assigned to the Army Post at San Juan, where they were valued for their bilingual abilities. Five nurses were assigned to work at the hospital at Camp Tortuguero, Puerto Rico. [16]

The Navy also recruited a small number of Puerto Rican women as members of the Navy Women's Reserve known as WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) during World War II. Among the women who served in the military and distinguished themselves were:

Tech4 Carmen Contreras-Bozak (1919 – 2017) who was born in Cayey, Puerto Rico, was the first Hispanic to serve in the U.S. Women's Army Corps as an interpreter, and in numerous administrative positions. She arrived in Northern Africa on January 27, 1943, and rendered overseas duties in Algiers within General Dwight D. Eisenhower's theatre headquarters. Her responsibilities included the transmission of encoded messages to the battlefield. [18]

Second Lieutenant Carmen Lozano Dumler (1921 - 2015) who was born in San Juan, was one of the first Puerto Rican women to become a United States Army officer. In 1945, Lozano Dumler was assigned to the 359th Station Hospital of Ft. Read, Trinidad and Tobago, British West Indies, where she attended wounded soldiers who had returned from Normandy, France. [16]

Second Lieutenant Carmen Vazquez Rivera who was born February 15, 1921, in Cidra, Puerto Rico. Served in the United States Army as Head Nurse of the Orthopedic Department at Fort Brooke in San Juan with the rank of Second Lieutenant. [19] Later served in the United States Air Force during the Korean War with the rank of First Lieutenant. [20] Also became wife and widow of prominent Puerto Rican politician Dr. Leopoldo Figueroa. Received WWII Victory Medal, the American Theater Campaign Medal, and the Overseas Service Bars for her service in WWII and later received renewed recognition as a centenarian. [20] [21] [22]

Lieutenant Junior Grade Maria Rodriguez Denton (United States Navy), born June 14, 1909, in the town of Guanica, Puerto Rico, was the first woman from Puerto Rico who became an officer in the United States Navy as member of the WAVES. [13] The Navy assigned Denton as a library assistant at the Cable and Censorship Office in New York City. It was Lt. Denton who forwarded the news (through channels) to President Harry S. Truman that the war had ended.

Sylvia Rexach . one of Puerto Rico's greatest composers of boleros, dropped-out of the University of Puerto Rico in 1942 and joined the U.S. Women's Army Corps where she served as an office clerk. She served in the military until 1945, when she was honorably discharged. [23]

Marie Teresa Rios was a writer of Puerto Rican descent who also served in World War II. Rios is the mother of Medal of Honor recipient Capt. Humbert Roque Versace and author of The Fifteenth Pelican, which was the basis for the 1960s television sitcom "The Flying Nun." She drove Army trucks and buses, and also served as a pilot for the Civil Air Patrol. Rios Versace wrote and edited for newspapers in Guam, Germany, Wisconsin, and South Dakota, and the publications Star & Stripes and Gannett . [24]

Revolt against the United States

Plaque honoring the women of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party 1950 PRNationalist Women.JPG
Plaque honoring the women of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party

The Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, organized on September 17, 1922, became the largest independence group in Puerto Rico by the 1930s. Under the leadership of Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos, the party opted against electoral participation and advocated violent revolution. The women's branch of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party was called the Daughters of Freedom. Some of the militants of this organization included Julia de Burgos , considered by many as the greatest Puerto Rican poet.

Certain dramatic and violent confrontations during the 1930s, in which the Nationalist Party partisans were involved, led to the call for an uprising against the United States and the eventual attack of the United States House of Representatives of the 1950s.

One of the worst incidents was the Ponce massacre on March 21, 1937, when police officers fired upon Nationalists who were participating in a peaceful demonstration. About 100 were wounded and nineteen were killed, among the dead was one woman Maria Hernandez del Rosario and a seven-year-old child, Georgina Maldonado. [25]

On October 30, 1950, the Nationalist Party called for a revolt against the United States and uprisings, known as the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party Revolts of the 1950s, were held in the towns of Ponce, Mayagüez, Naranjito, Arecibo, Utuado, San Juan, and most notably in Jayuya which became known as the Jayuya Uprising. Various women who were members of the Nationalist Party, but who did not participate in the revolts were arrested. Among them Isabel Rosado , a social worker, was falsely accused by the US Government in participating in the revolts. Dr. Olga Viscal Garriga , a student leader and spokesperson of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party's branch in Río Piedras, was also falsely accused. [26]

The military intervened and the revolts came to an end after three days on November 2. Two of the most notable women, who bore arms against the United States, were Blanca Canales and Lolita Lebrón.

Blanca Canales is best known for leading the Jayuya Revolt. Canales led her group to the town's plaza where she raised the Puerto Rican flag and declared Puerto Rico to be a Republic. She was arrested and accused of killing a police officer and wounding three others. She was also accused of burning down the local post office. She was sentenced to life imprisonment plus sixty years of jail. In 1967, Canales was given a full pardon by Puerto Rican Governor Roberto Sanchez Vilella. [27]

Lolita Lebrón was the leader of a group of nationalists who attacked the United States House of Representatives in 1954. Lebrón's mission was to bring world attention to Puerto Rico's independence cause. When Lebrón's group reached the visitor's gallery above the chamber in the House, she stood up and shouted "¡Viva Puerto Rico Libre!" ("Long live a Free Puerto Rico!") and unfurled a Puerto Rican flag. Then the group opened fire with automatic pistols. A legend claims that Lebrón fired her shots at the ceiling and missed. In 1979, under international pressure, President Jimmy Carter pardoned Lolita Lebrón and two members of her group, Irving Flores and Rafael Cancel Miranda. [28]

Rosa Collazo was the treasurer of the New York City branch of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. She was the wife of Oscar Collazo one of two Nationalists who attacked Blair House in 1950 in an attempt to kill President Harry Truman. She was accused by the FBI of assisting Lolita Lebron, and Lebron's comrades in their assault on the United States House of Representatives. She was charged on both occasions with complicity in a conspiracy to overthrow the United States Government and imprisoned because of her political beliefs. [29]

1950s to 1990s

After World War II, the Armed Forces of the United States reduced their military personnel. This reduction also applied to the women's military auxiliary units such as the Women's Army Corps, The Navy's WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) and the WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots). However, several conflicts such as the Korean War and the Vietnam War produced a demand for the services of these women. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Puerto Rican women continued to volunteer for military service.

CWO3 Rose Franco RoseFranco.jpg
CWO3 Rose Franco

CWO3 Rose Franco , born January 22, 1934, in Guánica, Puerto Rico, was the first Puerto Rican woman to become a Chief Warrant Officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. With the outbreak of the Korean War, Rose surprised her family by announcing that she was leaving college to join the United States Marine Corps. In 1965, Rose was named Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Navy Paul Henry Nitze by the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson. [13]

1st Lieutenant Gloria Esparra Petersen, born May 1, 1927, in the town Barranquitas, Puerto Rico, was an Army nurse at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C., during the Korean War. [13]

Captain Julia Benitez Aviles, (January 28, 1912 – January 15, 1978) born in Orocovis, Puerto Rico, was the first Puerto Rican servicewoman to obtain the rank of captain. She joined the Army Nurse Corps in 1950 and served in Occupation Germany; Washington, D.C.; Texas; and Puerto Rico as a nurse anesthetist, retiring in 1964. [13]

Lieutenant Nilda Carrulas Cedero Fuertes, born in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, joined the Army Nurse Corps in 1953, serving on active duty until 1964. She then joined the Reserves, where she served until 1990. Among her assignments in the military was teaching the latest modern nursing techniques to Nicaraguan Army nurses while TDY (on temporary duty) in Nicaragua for six months. [13]

Vietnam War

In January 1967, the Pentagon, via a General Order, sent the first group of military women from the Women's Army Corps to Saigon, Vietnam. They all worked under United States Army Vietnam. Amongst that first group were three Puerto Rican Women; Reina Monte from Brooklyn, New York, Rosario Bermudez from Lorain, Ohio, and Juana Christina Felix from the Bronx, New York. These three Puerto Rican Women served from 1967 to 1968. More Puerto Rican women continued to serve in Vietnam; among them were Sonia Gonzalez, and Nora Lebron who are both currently living in Puerto Rico. [30]

The WAC was dis-established in 1978. Since then, women in the U.S. Army and other branches of the military have served in the same units as men but do not have combat duties.

In 1984, then-cadet Michelle Fraley became the first Puerto Rican woman to graduate from West Point Military Academy. Fraley would rise up to Colonel and become the Chief of Staff for the Army Network Enterprise Technology Command.

21st century

Brigadier General Irene M. Zoppi Irene M. Zoppi (3).jpg
Brigadier General Irene M. Zoppi
Colonel Maritza Saenz Ryan Maritza Ryan.jpg
Colonel Maritza Sáenz Ryan
Captain Haydee Javier Kimmich Kimmich2.JPG
Captain Haydee Javier Kimmich
Then Lieutenant Custodio climbing down from the cockpit of a T-38 Lt. Olga Custodio.jpg
Then Lieutenant Custodio climbing down from the cockpit of a T-38
Capt. Linda Garcia Cubero, the first Hispanic woman to graduate from any service academy LindaCuberoGarcia .jpg
Capt. Linda Garcia Cubero, the first Hispanic woman to graduate from any service academy
Command Sergeant Major Maria V. Martinez Maria Martinez3.JPG
Command Sergeant Major María V. Martínez
Major General Marta Carcana Marta Carcana (2).jpg
Major General Marta Carcana

Changes within the policy and military structure of the U.S. armed forces helped expand the participation and roles for women in the military, among these the establishment of the All-Volunteer Force in the 1970s. Puerto Rican women and women of Puerto Rican descent have continued to join the Armed Forces, and some have even made the military a career.

Colonel Maritza Sáenz Ryan (U.S. Army) is the head of the Department of Law at the United States Military Academy. She is the first woman and first Hispanic (Puerto Rican father and Spanish mother) West Point graduate to serve as an academic department head. She also has the distinction of being the most senior-ranking Hispanic Judge Advocate. Sáenz Ryan has been instrumental in raising awareness of the inequity and impracticality of the Combat Exclusion Policy, which restricts women's roles and opportunities in the military regardless of talent or ability. [31] [32]

Colonel Maria Zumwalt (U. S. Army) from Bayamon, was named commander of the 48th Chemical Brigade effective June 15, 2011. [33]

Colonel Maria Zumwalt COL MARIA ZUMWALT.jpg
Colonel Maria Zumwalt

Captain Haydee Javier Kimmich (U.S. Navy) from Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, was the highest-ranking Hispanic female in the Navy. The naval rank of Captain is the equivalent of Colonel in the other US armed forces. Kimmich was assigned as the Chief of Orthopedics at the Navy Medical Center in Bethesda and reorganized their Reservist Department during Operation Desert Storm. In 1998, she was selected as the woman of the year in Puerto Rico. [13]

Lieutenant Colonel Olga E. Custodio (USAF) became the first female Hispanic U.S. military pilot. She holds the distinction of being first Latina to complete U.S. Air Force military pilot training. Upon retiring from the military, she became the first Latina commercial airline captain. [34]

Major Sonia Roca born December 4, 1955, in San Juan, was the first Hispanic female officer to attend the Command and General Staff Officer Course at the Army's School of the Americas. [13]

Major Hila Levy  [ es ] was born in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. [35] She was raised in Guaynabo in a military family; her father, Ramon, was a captain in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. [36] She enrolled in flying school at age 16 and obtained her license within a year. [36] She enrolled in the United States Air Force Academy in 2004. [36] In 2008, she was the first resident of Puerto Rico to become a Rhodes scholar. [37] As a Cadet in the U.S. Air Force Academy, she was the top graduate, earning the Outstanding Cadet in the Order of Graduation Award, and placement on the 100-year Honor Roll. [38] She has earned a BS in Biology, three master's degrees (historical research and biology from the University of Oxford, and environmental planning and management from Johns Hopkins University) and a PhD in zoology from the University of Oxford. [35] [39] She serves in the 352nd Special Operations Wing, studies penguins in the Antarctic up to four months per year, and is an intelligence officer at the Joint Reserve Intelligence Support Element, Royal Air Force Molesworth, UK. [35] She has also participated in triathlons, marathons and cycling competitions, and serves in veteran support organizations. [36]

Captain Linda Garcia Cubero was the first Hispanic woman graduate of the Air Force Academy in 1980, when the first class with women graduated. She is of Mexican-American and Puerto Rican heritage. [40]

Command Sergeant Major María V. Martínez was the first Puerto Rican female to reach said rank in the U.S. Army. She serves as Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Director of the Army Diversity Office in the Pentagon, Washington D.C. [41]

Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm

Puerto Rican servicewomen have served in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. They were among the 41,000 women who participated in both military operations. They also served in the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Brigadier General Irene M. Zoppi also known as "RAMBA," was born in Canóvanas, Puerto Rico. According to the U.S. Army, she is "the first Puerto Rican woman promoted to the rank of general in the U.S. Army Reserve." [42] She was deployed to Kuwait, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia with the 3rd Armored Division as a Military Intelligence Officer. She was one of few Latino women, who served during Desert Shield/Storm War in a Tank Division. She is currently the Deputy Commanding General – Support under the 200th Military Police Command at Fort Meade, Maryland. Zoppi is a Bronze Star Medal Recipient. [43] [44] According to the U.S. Army Reserve, "Brig. Gen. Zoppi's awards and decorations include: Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (with 3 oak leaf clusters), Army Commendation Medal (with 6 oak leaf clusters), Southwest Asia Service Medal (with 3 bronze stars), Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), Kuwait Liberation Medal (Government of Kuwait) and U.S. Army Parachutist Badge. Brig. Gen. Zoppi also received the Military Intelligence Excellence Knowlton Award in 2013." [45]

Ultimate sacrifice

As of July 2007, five Puerto Rican female soldiers have died while serving in the armed forces of the United States. Four deaths were combat-related and one was during a training exercise. They were:

SPC Frances M. Vega (September 2, 1983 November 2, 2003) was born in San Francisco, California, and graduated from Antilles High School. Her grandfather, father and uncle had served in the U.S. military. [46] Vega was deployed to Iraq in what is known as the War on Terrorism, [47] [48] [49] and became the first female soldier of Puerto Rican descent to die in a combat zone [50] when on November 2, 2003, a surface-to-air missile was fired by insurgents in Al Fallujah and hit the U.S. transport helicopter (Chinook) she was in. [51] Vega was one of 16 soldiers who died in the Chinook crash. [52] [53] She was buried with full military honors and posthumously awarded a Bronze Star for bravery and a Purple Heart. [54] An Army Post Office in Iraq was named in her honor, and a sign from the post office was moved to the U.S. Army Adjutant General's Corps Museum in 2012. [55] One of the main gates at the Fort Buchanan military installation is also named in her honor, [56] with a plaque that includes, "Specialist Frances M. Vega epitomizes the character and patriotism of the countless American Soldiers who have answered the call to defend freedom." [57] [ circular reference ]

SPC Lizbeth Robles (April 4, 1973 March 1, 2005), born in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, [58] [59] was the first female soldier born in Puerto Rico to die in the War on Terrorism. She was assigned to 360th Transportation Company, 68th Corps Support Battalion, 43rd Area Support Group. [60] SPC Robles volunteered for the 43rd Area Support Group, which rode in convoys to secure dangerous roadways for the delivery of fuel. [61] On February 28, 2005, SPC Robles and Sgt. Julio Negron sustained injuries after riding in a Humvee that flipped over by the town of Baiji, Iraq. [62] [61] Sgt. Negron died on February 28, [63] and SPC Robles died on March 1 at the 228th Combat Support Hospital in Tikrit due to her injuries. [64]

SPC Aleina Ramirez Gonzalez [50] (1972 April 15, 2005) born in the town of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico, died in Tikrit, Iraq, when a mortar struck her forward operating base. [65]

Captain Maria Ines Ortiz (1967 July 10, 2007), born in Camden, New Jersey, was the first Hispanic nurse (Puerto Rican descent) to die in combat and first Army nurse to die in Iraq. [66] She was killed by shrapnel from a mortar attack in the Baghdad Green Zone. [67] She had volunteered for service in Iraq. [67]

The names of four of these women, along with the other Puerto Ricans who have perished in Afghanistan and Iraq, were engraved in El Monumento de la Recordación (The Monument of Remembrance), which is dedicated to Puerto Rico's fallen soldiers and situated in front of the Capitol Building in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This monument was unveiled by Puerto Rico Senate President Kenneth McClintock and PR National Guard Adjutant General Col. David Carrión on Memorial Day, 2007. [68]

SPC Hilda I. Ortiz Clayton (May 21, 1991 July 2, 2013) is the first Puerto Rican female to die in a non-combat related accident. Clayton was an Army combat photographer who was killed in 2013 when a mortar exploded during an Afghan training exercise; she was able to photograph the explosion that killed her and four Afghan soldiers. The 55th Signal Company named their annual competitive award for combat camera work "The Spc. Hilda I. Clayton Best Combat Camera (COMCAM) Competition" in her honor [69] [70]

Adjutant General of the Puerto Rican National Guard

In July 2015, Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla nominated Colonel Marta Carcana for the position of Adjutant General of the Puerto Rican National Guard, a position which she unofficially held since 2014. On September 4, 2015, she was confirmed as the first Puerto Rican woman to lead the Puerto Rican National Guard and promoted to Major General. [71] [72]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lolita Lebrón</span> Puerto Rican nationalist

Lolita Lebrón was a Puerto Rican nationalist who was convicted of aggravated assault and other crimes after carrying out an armed attack on the United States Capitol in 1954, which resulted in the wounding of five members of the United States Congress. She was released from prison in 1979 after being granted clemency by President Jimmy Carter. Lebrón was born and raised in Lares, Puerto Rico, where she joined the Puerto Rican Liberal Party. In her youth she met Francisco Matos Paoli, a Puerto Rican poet, with whom she had a relationship. In 1941, Lebrón migrated to New York City, where she joined the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, gaining influence within the party's leadership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmen Lozano Dumler</span> First Puerto Rican women to become a United States Army officer

Second Lieutenant Carmen Maria Lozano Dumler, RN,, was one of the first Puerto Rican women to become a United States Army officer. During World War II, she served as a nurse and interpreter, and provided support for patients who spoke Spanish. Lozano Dumler has since been featured in promotional and recruitment materials that celebrate diversity in the US military.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military history of Puerto Rico</span> From the 16th century to the present employment of Puerto Ricans in the US Armed Forces

The recorded military history of Puerto Rico encompasses the period from the 16th century, when Spanish conquistadores battled native Taínos in the rebellion of 1511, to the present employment of Puerto Ricans in the United States Armed Forces in the military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puerto Rico National Cemetery</span> Historic veterans cemetery in Bayamón, Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico National Cemetery is a United States national cemetery located in the city of Bayamón, in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It encompasses 108.2 acres (43.8 ha) of land, and at the end of 2005, had 44,722 interments. Until 2021, it was the only United States National Cemetery in Puerto Rico. A second United States National Cemetery was built in Morovis, Puerto Rico because the cemetery in Bayamón has reached its capacity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmen Contreras-Bozak</span> Puerto Rican soldier

Tech4 Carmen Contreras-Bozak, was the first Puerto Rican woman to serve in the U.S. Women's Army Corps (WAC) where she served as an interpreter and in numerous administrative positions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puerto Ricans in World War II</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">María Inés Ortiz</span> United States Army officer

Captain María Inés Ortiz was the first American nurse to die in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom and the first U.S. Army nurse to die in combat since the Vietnam War. The United States Army named the Forward Operating Base Prosperity clinic after her.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hispanic Americans in World War II</span> Military contributions of Hispanic Americans

Hispanic Americans, also referred to as Latinos, served in all elements of the American armed forces in the war. They fought in every major American battle in the war. Between 400,000 and 500,000 Hispanic Americans served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II, out of a total of 16,000,000, constituting 3.1% to 3.2% of the U.S. Armed Forces. The exact number is unknown as, at the time, Hispanics were not tabulated separately, but were included in the general white population census count. Separate statistics were kept for African Americans and Asian Americans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosa Collazo</span> Political activist and militant, treasurer of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party NY branch

Rosa Collazo a.k.a. Rosa Cortez-Collazo was a political activist and treasurer of the New York City branch of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. She was the wife of Oscar Collazo one of two Nationalists who attacked Blair House in 1950 in an attempt to kill President Harry Truman. She was accused by the FBI of assisting Nationalists Lolita Lebrón, Rafael Cancel Miranda, Irvin Flores and Andres Figueroa Cordero in their assault on the United States House of Representatives in 1954. She was charged on both occasions with seditious conspiracy for her complicity in a conspiracy to overthrow the United States Government and imprisoned because of her political beliefs.

Puerto Ricans and people of Puerto Rican descent have participated as members of the United States Armed Forces in every conflict in which the United States has been involved since World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rafael Cancel Miranda</span> Puerto Rican activist and militant

Rafael Cancel Miranda was a poet, political activist, member of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party and an advocate of Puerto Rican independence. On March 1, 1954, Cancel Miranda and three other Nationalists attacked the House of Representatives while it was in session at the United States Capitol building, firing 30 shots and injuring five Congressmen. The four were arrested, convicted, and sentenced to long prison terms. In 1979, Cancel Miranda's sentence was commuted by United States President Jimmy Carter.

Dr. Dolores Mercedes Piñero, (1892–1975) was one of the first four Puerto Rican women to earn a medical degree. She was also one of the first civilian doctors, and the first Puerto Rican female doctor to serve under contract in the U.S. Army during World War I. During World War I, Piñero helped establish a hospital in Puerto Rico to attend soldiers who had contracted the swine flu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camp Las Casas</span> US military installation established in Santurce, Puerto Rico

Camp Las Casas was a United States military installation established in Santurce, Puerto Rico in 1904. The camp was the main training base of the "Porto Rico Regiment of Infantry," a segregated U.S. Army Regiment which was later renamed the "65th Infantry Regiment." The base continued in operation until 1946, when it was closed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruth Mary Reynolds</span> Puerto Rican educator and independence advocate

Ruth Mary Reynolds was an American educator, political and civil rights activist who embraced the ideals of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. She was incarcerated in La Princesa Prison for sedition during the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party Revolts of the 1950s. As one of the founders of the organization known as the "American League for Puerto Rico's Independence," she devoted many years of her life to the cause of Puerto Rico's independence from the United States after her release from prison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of women in Puerto Rico</span> From the era of the Taíno who inhabited the island

The recorded history of Puerto Rican women can trace its roots back to the era of the Taíno, the indigenous people of the Caribbean, who inhabited the island that they called Boriken before the arrival of Spaniards. During the Spanish colonization the cultures and customs of the Taíno, Spanish, African and women from non-Hispanic European countries blended into what became the culture and customs of Puerto Rico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hilda Clayton</span> United States Army photographer

Spc. Hilda I. Ortiz Clayton was a U.S. Army combat photographer who was killed in 2013 when a mortar accidentally exploded during an Afghan training exercise. She captured the explosion that killed her and four Afghan soldiers. She was assigned to the 55th Signal Company 21st Signal Brigade, Fort Meade, Maryland. Ortiz Clayton was the first combat documentation and production specialist to be killed in Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irene M. Zoppi</span> Brigadier General, United States Army Reservist

Irene M. Zoppi Rodríguez, is a retired U.S. Army Reserve brigadier general and academic. She was the first Puerto Rican woman ever to attain that rank in the Army Reserve. Her final assignment was deputy commanding general for United States Army South as the director of the Army Reserve Engagement Cell for Individual Mobilization Augmentees. Zoppi is an adjunct professor at Strayer University. She has worked as an instructor for the National Intelligence University where she directed the university's academic center within the National Security Agency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmen Vazquez Rivera</span>

Carmen Maria Vazquez Rivera de Figueroa is a Puerto Rican United States Army and Air Force officer and nurse who served in both World War II and the Korean War. She is the widow of Puerto Rican politician, lawyer, medical doctor, and scholar Leopoldo Figueroa.

References

  1. La Ninfa de Puerto Rico a la Justicia Archived 2011-05-26 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Bios [ permanent dead link ]
  3. Luisa Capetillo Archived 2003-12-17 at the Wayback Machine
  4. El Nuevo Dia Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
  5. 1 2 "Leyenda Las Once Mil Virgenes". Puerta de Tierra (San Juan) (in Spanish). Archived from the original on June 16, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  6. "Lindsay Daen". Archived from the original on 2015-06-11. Retrieved 2006-09-25.
  7. Mercedes - La primera Independentista Puertorriquena Archived 2011-04-21 at the Wayback Machine
  8. Moscoso, Francisco, La Revolución Puertorriqueña de 1868: El Grito de Lares, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, 2003
  9. Toledo, Josefina, "Lola Rodríguez de Tió - Contribución para un estudio integral", Librería Editorial Ateneo, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 2002
  10. "Mariana Bracetti". Archived from the original on 2008-07-04. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
  11. Puerto Rico: Culture, Politics, and Identity; By Nancy Morris
  12. Politico: Puerto Ricans in World War I
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Women's Military Memorial Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
  14. Salud Promujer 1 Archived 2011-08-24 at the Wayback Machine
  15. Carol R. Byerly, Fever of War, (New York University Press, 2005), 6–10.
  16. 1 2 3 Puerto Rican Woman in Defense of our country Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
  17. 1 2 "LAS WACS"-Participacion de la Mujer Boricua en la Seginda Guerra Mundial; by: Carmen Garcia Rosado; page 60; 1ra. Edicion publicada en Octubre de 2006; 2da Edicion revisada 2007; Regitro tro Propiedad Intectual ELA (Government of Puerto Rico) #06-13P-)1A-399; Library of Congress TXY 1-312-685.
  18. Young woman's life defined by service in Women's Army Corps Archived 2006-09-19 at the Wayback Machine , Retrieved 2006-07-22
  19. Staff. "Florida Department of Veterans Affairs Post". www.linkedin.com. Florida Department of Veterans Affairs. Archived from the original on 11 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  20. 1 2 Gonzalez-Colon, Jenniffer. "Honoring the Life of Lieutenant Vazquez". www.congress.gov. Library of Congress. Archived from the original on 2022-03-11. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  21. "ALVA Commemorates Women Veterans Appreciation Day". www.alvavets.org. Herndon, Virginia: 2021 ALVA. All Rights Reserved. Archived from the original on 17 July 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  22. Permuy, Antonio. "Former Miami Beach nurse and WWII vet receives LULAC's highest honor". www.communitynewspapers.com. Miami's Community Newspapers. Archived from the original on 23 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  23. "Music of Puerto Rico". Archived from the original on 2021-09-28. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
  24. "Marie Teresa Rios". Archived from the original on 2008-02-22. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
  25. Albizu Campos and the Ponce Massacre
  26. Viscal Family Archived 2003-07-27 at the Wayback Machine
  27. "Blanca Canales". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-10-04.
  28. "A 2004 Washington Post article on Lolita's life". Archived from the original on 2011-05-14. Retrieved 2017-09-10.
  29. Latinas in the United States: A Historical Encyclopedia,By Vicki Ruíz, Virginia Sánchez Korrol, Inc NetLibrary; Published by Indiana University Press, 2006; Page 164; ISBN   0-253-34680-0, ISBN   978-0-253-34680-3
  30. "The Women's Army Corps during the Vietnam War". Archived from the original on 2014-03-20. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
  31. "Maritza Sáenz Ryan - Bio" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-10-09. Retrieved 2011-09-15.
  32. Ryan takes charge of Law Department [ permanent dead link ]
  33. "Zumwalt assumes 48th Chemical Brigade command". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2013-09-22.
  34. Our American Dream: Meet the First Latina US Military Pilot Archived 2016-04-16 at the Wayback Machine
  35. 1 2 3 Lunsford, Brandon (February 24, 2021). "CAP Salutes First Rhodes Scholar on National Science Day". Ponca City News. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  36. 1 2 3 4 VanHorn, Derek (July 25, 2013). "140.6 miles of bliss". Pacific Air Forces. Archived from the original on 27 February 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  37. Johnston, Megumi (November 30, 2007). "Cadet makes history as Rhodes recipient" (PDF). Academy Spirit Vol. 47. No. 48. USAF Academy Colorado. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-05-17. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  38. Puerto Rico, Nov 27, 2007, AFA cadet first Puerto Rican Rhodes scholar
  39. Huffman, Timm (July 14, 2016). "Intelligence officer finds research is for the birds". Air Force Reserve Command. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  40. Garcia Cubero, Linda. "Punto Final!". Latina Style . Archived from the original on 16 May 2009. Retrieved 24 March 2009.
  41. "The United States Department of the Army" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2011-06-08.
  42. Sauret, Michel (October 25, 2017). ""Ramba" is first female Puerto Rican general officer in US Army Reserve". U.S. Army. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  43. "nbc learn K-12". Archived from the original on 2018-07-02. Retrieved 2015-08-26.
  44. "Brigadier General Irene Zoppi". Archived from the original on 2018-05-07. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  45. "Brig. Gen. Irene Zoppi". U.S. Army Reserve. Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  46. Rivera, Carla (June 1, 2004). "Picnics, Reenactments Mark Memorial Day". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 3 March 2021. Lee Ernst, a surgical technician from Los Feliz, remembered her friend, Army Spec. Frances M. Vega, 20, [...]. She wrote her friend's name on a piece of paper, placed a stargazer lily in front of it and secured them to the cross with a rubber band. Then, she stepped back and offered a prayer. "This is a time of remembrance," she said, not only for Vega, but also her grandfather, father and uncle, who all served their country in uniform.
  47. Horn, Lisa (May 30, 2004). "Female troops face new dangers in Iraq". Stars and Stripes. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021. Regardless of job or gender, the guerrilla nature of the Iraq war has made every servicemember a target, said Pittam, who along with Joseph and Clifford, deployed to Iraq from April to October last year. "To be in combat service support doesn't really mean much anymore," she said. "You're still there with the front-line soldiers." Such was the case for Spc. Frances Vega, an administrative specialist; Sgt. Melissa Valles, an automated logistical specialist; and Sgt. Keicia Hines, a unit supply specialist. They all died in Iraq doing jobs that would have normally put them far from the enemy.
  48. "Sister Soldiers". The Chicago Tribune. RedEye news services. May 25, 2004. Retrieved 3 March 2021. Michael O'Hanlon, a military analyst at the Brookings Institution, said the nature of this conflict marks a new chapter for women. [...] "In these kinds of conflicts, which may be the future ... there is no such thing as separating things neatly into high-risk and low-risk jobs."
  49. "Female soldiers who died in Iraq war". Chicago Tribune. March 11, 2004. Archived from the original on 18 November 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2021. Among women service personnel to die in Iraq were a helicopter pilot, an intelligence officer, a warrant officer of the Army Judge Advocate General's Corps and a member of an explosive ordnance disposal unit. They have been killed by mortar attacks, by rocket-propelled grenades, and in helicopters that were shot down. "Women are getting closer and closer to combat," said Lory Manning, who directs the Center for Women in Uniform at the Women's Research and Education Institute in Washington.
  50. 1 2 Collins, Shannon (October 14, 2016). "Puerto Ricans Represented Throughout U.S. Military History". DOD News. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  51. Davis Jr., Archie L. (December 22, 2015). "A brief history of Hispanic women in our Army". Fort Hood Sentinel. Archived from the original on 8 February 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  52. Davey, Monica (November 9, 2003). "THE STRUGGLE FOR IRAQ: CASUALTIES; Lucky Break for Soldiers Heading Home From Iraq Turns to Heartbreak for Families". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  53. Kelly, David (November 4, 2003). "Soldiers' Deaths Devastate Bases". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  54. Griffiths, Frank (November 9, 2003). "Army Spc. Frances M. Vega Buried With Full Military Honors". Puerto Rico Herald. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 7 October 2008. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  55. 1st Theater Sustainment Command. "Black Jack Express June 1 Desert Vision Version". U.S. Central Command. Archived from the original on 18 November 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  56. Harvey, Michael T. (March 2016). "From the Garrison Commander" (PDF). El Morro Vol. 2. No. 6. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  57. "Frances Vega Memorial.JPG". Archived from the original on 18 November 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  58. Colón Dávila, Javier. "APASIONADA DE LA MILICIA". El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 February 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  59. Rylko-Bauer, Barbara; Whiteford, Linda M.; Farmer, Paul (2009). Global Health in Times of Violence. School for Advanced Research Press. ISBN   9781934691144.
  60. "The Fallen: 2005". The New York Times. 2006-09-23. Archived from the original on 2021-03-14. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  61. 1 2 "War's realities hit home again". The Denver Post. March 29, 2005. Archived from the original on 18 November 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  62. "Lizbeth Robles Obituary - (2005) - Vega Baja, Puerto Rico". The Gazette. 2005-03-03. Archived from the original on 2023-11-18. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  63. "Army Sgt. Julio E. Negron". Honor The Fallen. Military Times. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  64. "Army Spc. Lizbeth Robles". Honor The Fallen. Military Times. Archived from the original on 18 November 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  65. "Honor the Fallen". Archived from the original on 2009-09-03. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
  66. "Arlington National Cemetery". Archived from the original on 2019-02-02. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
  67. 1 2 Vogel, Steve (July 17, 2007). "Popular Army Nurse Is the First Killed in Combat Since Vietnam". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 30 August 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  68. Memorial Day Speech
  69. Martin, David (May 3, 2017). "Army combat photographer's last picture is of her own death". CBS News . Archived from the original on April 4, 2019. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  70. "Hilda Clayton's Obituary on The Augusta Chronicle". The Augusta Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2019-04-17. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  71. "Designan nuevamente a Martha Carcana para dirigir la Guardia Nacional". Archived from the original on 2015-08-29. Retrieved 2015-09-05.
  72. "National Guard News". Archived from the original on 2015-09-05. Retrieved 2015-09-05.

Further reading