Talk:Hispanic Admirals in the United States Navy/ Archive 1

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[edit] Where is Commodore Uriah P. Levy?

Uriah Levy was the greatest hero of the American Navy between the Revolution and the Civil War. He was a Sephardic -- Spanish -- Jew. Is his omission from this list deliberate? Until this omission is clarified, I believe that the entire article deserves a POV tag Scott Adler 22:14, 22 April 2007 (UTC)

The Commodore rank in Levy's time, though the highest rank achievable at the time, was not equivalent to today's Admiral. The one-star rank was not established for the U.S. Navy until the Civil War. I'm sure absolutely no slight was intended. — ERcheck (talk) 22:37, 22 April 2007 (UTC)
Why don't you address this at Uriah P. Levy where there is absolutely no mention of any Spanish origin. Also there is absolutely no mention of any Spanish origin in any of the references. How about you cite that? 128.227.50.109 00:45, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

Removed POV tag, There are no verifiable reliable sources which without a doubt can provide us with prove that Uriah Levy was a Hispanic. The rank of admiral as stated was created during the Civil War. Nor Levy or for that matter not even the father of the United States Navy, John Paul Jones, ever held that rank. This article is about Hispanic Admirals is all statements have been made in within Wikipedia's policy. All the information in the article have been verified as required. Tony the Marine 02:35, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

Striking out some of my comments above. I understand that, though Levy did not have the title of Admiral, Commodore Levy was a Flag Officer. The article has been amended to include information about Commodore Levy. Thanks for calling attention to Levy and his achievements. — ERcheck (talk) 20:56, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

Can we verify that Levy was the first of Hispanic heritage to reach this rank? — ERcheck (talk) 21:12, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

Nope! I have rephrased the statement. Tony the Marine 22:43, 26 April 2007 (UTC)


Levy's so-called "Hispanic" heritage is a type of Jewish heritage, and not particularly related to the modern American useage of the word Hispanic. Aside from his "general American" culture, his cultural and religious alliance was with the Jewish people, and not with Hispanic peoples. If he had been Hispanic (in the modern US sense), well great--but this is gross historical inaccuracy to simply add Sephardic Jews who acquired strong roots in Spain after the expulsion from from ancient Israel by the Romans. Jews are a national/spiritual group more than a cultural group. Levy was an Israelite with several hundred years of family root in Spain. The Hispanic culture in America, whether European Spanish or mixed Mexican, New Mexican, Puerto Riccan, etc. is also complex (and very interesting) and hardly one single ethnic group. This article is irrelevent "list-making" at a most unscholarly level. Millions of Americans are Scots, English, German, African, etc. mixes. How do you decide which "ethnic" list their more famous characters go on? BAD SCHOLARSHIP, this. No disrespect, but this is the sort of article that hurts Wikipedia's reputation. David Siegel, rockwell@bezeqint.net, Galilee, Israel. 88.153.90.231 06:44, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

  • I would like to point out that Commodore Levy was not included in the original text of the article, however when the above user "Scott Adler" made the observation of Levy's name being omitted, I consulted with Rear Admrial Jay DeLoach of the Pentagon to determine if Levy was a Jew of Spanish descent. According to the Pentagon, Levy was Jewish by religion of Spanish descent since his family had their roots for centuries in Spain. Wikipedia is about reliable verifiable information and the fact that Levy's family had its roots for several hundred years in Spain and that he is a descendent of Spanish citizens can not be denied. If it is good enough for the Pentagon, it's good enough for us. Tony the Marine 07:46, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] GA review

I am tempted to fail this article because I believe it to be original research. None of the sources specifically say anything about only Hispanic Admirals in the US Navy. However I have asked for a second opinion on this review. T Rex | talk 03:08, 25 September 2007 (UTC)

  • "Original Research" did not go into this article. Everything has it's verfifiable source as required by Wikipedia policy. I don't understand your statement "None of the sources specifically say anything about only Hispanic Admirals in the US Navy." This is an original article which I created. Look at the "Hispanic" surnames or the place of birth of those Hispanics who do not have Hispanic surnames. Tony the Marine 03:40, 25 September 2007 (UTC)
    • What I meant is that the topic "Hispanic Admirals in the United States Navy" is not in any of the sources. What I mean is better explained here. T Rex | talk 20:41, 25 September 2007 (UTC)
  • T Rex, I see what your concern is, but let me reasure you that this artcle is about "Hispanic Admirals" per se and is not advancing to make a point. When you gather different ideas or sources to advance another position, then that would be original research. However, this is a listing of various Hispanic admirals in a well organized article with the proper title. I always write about themes and subjects which you rarely find in the internet. To give you an example of my work, you can check these: Military history of Puerto Rico and Hispanic Americans in World War II. Hey I know that you are well intentioned and I take it as such. Tony the Marine 23:54, 25 September 2007 (UTC)
Article is GA class; Not only does it have all free image, but it is well written. -- (Cocoaguy ここがいい contribstalk) 01:02, 29 September 2007 (UTC)
I am taking this to WP:GAR because I feel that Cocoaguy either didn't understand my concerns or ignored them when reviewing the article. T Rex | talk 19:51, 29 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Article or list?

I have a small query. Is this an article or a list? The only actual encyclopedic content is the lead and the "Terminology" section. The rest just lists the name of Hispanic Admirals in the Navy. --Agüeybaná 02:37, 29 September 2007 (UTC)

  • Thank you Eddie for your comments. It is an article and I do not agree with you that the only encyclopedic information is the lead. The article itself does contain a list of Hispanic Admirals, but with the difference that after each name there is a paragraph which details the person's main career contributions unlike those other lists which would only contain name, rank or awards. Muchas Gracias. Tony the Marine 03:04, 29 September 2007 (UTC)
    • OK. Viva Puerto Rico libre --Agüeybaná 03:10, 29 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] References

I've voted de-list at the GAR for this article, so I guess I'll be about as popular round here as a dead rat in the swimming pool :) I thought it might be helpful if I listed all the problems I can see with referencing, and those working on the article can then either fix the problems, or work off some steam by telling me exactly what they think of me. Seriously, this is intended to be helpful. I've got no problem with the general concept of Hispanic American Admirals, it's just that I started seeing problems with references, and then it got a bit like a loose thread in a sweater - you keep pulling and it keeps unravelling...Anyway, here goes:

  • Ref 1 - Uriah Levy, in the lead: The reference for this one is off line, so I can't check it (That's not a problem in itself of course). I note from the article on Sephardi Jews that the term is not necessarily applied to people of 'Spanish' descent, the term sometimes being used to represent the alternative to Ashkenazi Jews. The article on Levy does not state that he was considered, or considered himself, Hispanic. There's no mention of it in any of the references at Levy's page either, although this page does mention a great-great grandfather Samuel Nunez, which is a Spanish name. That's hardly proof by itself, of course. Would it be useful to quote the relevant part from the hardcopy reference in a footnote, so as to make the situation quite clear?
  • Ref 2 - Not a biggie, but doesn't specify 9 rear admirals.I agree, no biggie, but I took care of it
  • Ref 4 - I'm confused by this. I guess it's meant to support the statement "As of April 2007, twenty two Hispanic-Americans have reached the rank of Admiral and of this number thirteen were graduates of the USNA"? The page linked to is mostly the story of Rudy Davila, a soldier who finally got his Medal of Honor some 60 odd years after he earned it. Oddly, there's a paragraph in the middle of the page that briefly mentions Hispanics in the Navy, but it doesn't support the sentence I've quoted above. Has the page perhaps changed since it was used as a reference?Eliminated ref.
  • Ref 6 - This is given as a web link to Google books, but the online version is only partially searchable. I found no relevant results for Admiral or 1862. Suggest this reference is reconfigured as a hardcopy reference giving full details including page number. Alternatively, there are probably other online sources that could confirm that the USN had no Admirals pre-1862. In fact, one of the David Farragut refs would probably do.Done, note: I'm doing this a little at a time.
  • Ref 7 - As mentioned at GAR, the definition given in the article does not match that in the reference. Furthermore, the reference does not support the claim (no doubt true) that the "three largest Hispanic groups in the United States are the Mexican-Americans, Puerto Ricans and Cubans".Added additional ref
  • Section 'David Farragut': As mentioned at GAR, this section has no inline citations. Should be easy to fix, as there are plentiful refs elsewhere in the article.Done
  • Ref 10 - As mentioned at GAR, this is used in the first two paras of 'United States Naval Academy', but does not support any of the material there.added addition refs
  • Ref 12 - As mentioned at GAR, not enough information to retrieve the information.Fixed
  • Ref 13 - As mentioned at GAR, reference does not support the text it is used in.Added ref
  • Ref 15 - There seem to be copyright violations from this source in the words used for: Riefkohl, Cabanillas, Edmund Ernest Garcia, Rivero, and Montoya.No copyvio. They used the information from the bios of these men which I authored in Wikipedia. That is why they state "read more in Wikipedia"

Notice, that they used almost the exact words which I used in the individual Bio which I also wrote about the subjects. I the case of Montoya, I rephrased

  • Ref 17 - Interpretation perhaps, but the ref says "In October 1962, Rivero was on the Atlantic Fleet staff and had a pivotal role in keeping amphibious forces at the ready during the Cuban Missile Crisis.", while the article says "As Commander of amphibious forces, Atlantic Fleet, he was on the front line of the vessels sent to the Caribbean by President Kennedy to stop the Cold War from escalating into World War II". No mention in the ref of Rivero being on the front line in the Caribbean.*Ref 18 - might be better to use the actual book as a ref. Not a serious problem, although the ref doesn't quite cover all of the material given in the article on Benitez.Done
  • Ref 20 - article uses wording identical to some of that from the source, which is also identical to some of that in ref 15. Don't know who's lifting from who here!Taken care of
  • Refs 21 & 22 - Don't support the majority of the content on 'Rear Admiral Henry F. Herrera'. The content on Herrera also appears on this page, so this may be a copyvio, either from WP to ANSO or vice versa.This is all mine, constructed with the refs. on the net. Sometimes, these people borrow stuff without citing Wikipedia as they should, which is wrong. I went and rephrased some plus added another ref.
  • Ref 23 - Section on Pelaez is lifted directly from the source. What is the copyright situation for the ANSO material?Holy flying fish, I think I sinned in this one, I added stuff and ref.
  • Ref 26 - doesn't support the last two sentences on DeLoach.Added refs.
  • Ref 27 - Much of the material on Betancourt is identical to that in the given reference - which is marked 'All rights reserved'. The rest does not appear in the reference.Can't remember how I did this one, but repharsed and added new ref.
  • Ref 28 - Does not support any of the material on Diaz.Done
  • Ref 30 - Doesn't seem to be anything to suggest Gomez specialised in Surface Warfare.You are right, he participated in Surface Warfare exercises with the Biddle
  • Section on Hernandez - Nothing in refs on RIMPAC.Done
  • Ref 32 - Probably supports the article, but isn't there a source in English? That would be better (but is not a requirement, as far as I remember).Added an English ref also
  • Ref 33 - Is used for both Garcia and Rodriguez, but only covers Garcia. Has a reference been lost here?You are right. It seems that one of my friends mixed up the refs, while formattong them. Fixed

Hope this is helpful. For the most part, I think you probably have references to back up most of the material in the article, but perhaps it could be marshalled better in support of the words. With a rearranging of the refs and some rewriting of material which appears to be taken from elsewhere (You may know something I don't about the sourcing of course!) you should be in good shape. 4u1e 18:26, 2 October 2007 (UTC)

  • Don't worry 4u1e, nobody is going to hate you, you are a good person and your work in Wikipedia is of top quality. I don't mind if the article is delisted, I'm not planning on dealing with FA', GA's and so on anymore, I have even withdrawn a nomination which I made, however that doesn't mean that your concerns can't be looked into and I will because they are valid ones.


  • In my original article I didn't include Uriah Levy, because to be honest with you, I had never heard of him. When I joined the Marines in the 60's, the term Hispanic did not exsist. I went in as a white, but to my surprise when I returned to the states in the 90's, I found myself to be Hispanic. The term came into being sometime in the 70's. Since the term did not exsist Levy nor anyone prior to the 70's would referrer to themselves as Hispanics. However, the Department of the Navy, which is interested in my work, contacted me via RAdm. Jay Deloach a historian in the Pentagon. The Dept. of Navy, in an attempt to reconstruct the historical contributions made by Hispanics have abided by the definition established by the U.S. Government. Among the facts which they used to come to their conclusion on Levy were that he was a Sephardi Jew, descendent of Nunez who was a Spaniard. Now I wouldn't post the correspondence between myself and the Pentagon, because that would be original research therefore, I had to resort to what little sources found the Internet as required by policy. I don't know, but I feel that leaving Levy out would be like leaving Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. out of an article on African-Americans because we couldn't pin-point his exact African ancestry (Don't take this seriously, it is just my opinion).
    • I see what you mean - but I'm not sure the refs you have to date quite do the job - none of them mention the Sephardi thing! 4u1e 18:46, 2 October 2007 (UTC)
  • In regard to ref #2, it was intended to referrer to the estblishement of the Act itself, but that can be fixed.
  • Oh don't worry, there are no Copyright vio, since I am the original author of the pieces and they were barrowed from my work, instead of the other way around. But, I guess that I can add some more references.
    • I did wonder if that might be the case. If you're comfortable that you don't fall foul of WP:RS, then you might as well reference direct to the page then. But be prepared to have to explain to lots of people why it's OK :( 4u1e 18:46, 2 October 2007 (UTC)

Hey, I'll get back to fixing the concerns later today, since I have a sick wife and two granddaughters to look after. Don't worry about my reaction if the article is delisted, I'll be O.K. with it, you guys are just doing your job (even though there is no money in it -Joking). I know what my work is worth and the positive impact that it has had on others, see: [User:Marine 69-71/Why do I write in Wikipedia] and that is what really counts. Take care and Thank youTony the Marine 18:13, 2 October 2007 (UTC)

I've added a few more - sorry! Glad you take it in good stead. I have to admit to mixed feelings about 'ethnic' labels of various kinds. In an ideal world we wouldn't need them, and you don't have to look very far to find examples of labelling of others causing horrendous problems. On the other hand, you also don't have to look far to see examples of the pride that can come from having a sense of the history of 'people like us'. I guess that's why I find the concept of 'self identification' is actually the only sensible way to go about ethnic identity - the only important thing is what each individual feels about it, not what others may or may not want to label someone (Go and read talk:Lewis Hamilton for an example of floundering around trying to work out what to call a young man of mixed Afro-Caribbean and British parentage!) And for the reasons I outlined at the GAR, if you try and get scientific about it, you run into problems rather quickly.
Look at it this way, the more rock solid you can make your refs, the less arguable this article becomes. I would think you could make more use of the material in the DIANE published 'Hispanics in America's Defense' booklet, by the way.
Hope your wife gets better soon. 4u1e 18:46, 2 October 2007 (UTC)
  • 4u1e, I'll be doing all this stuff little by little. You are not going to believe this, but the short message that I wrote to you above about Levy, took me about two hours. I had to stop every couple of words to attend to the health situations in the family. Damn, I like working with people like you who are civil and at least explain things in detail. Tony the Marine 04:51, 3 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] GA Delisted

This article seems to be largely a list of Hispanic Admirals. It is a good, well referenced list and should probably soon be nominated at featured list candidates for consideration as featured content. The GA process does not handle list article for many reasons, but the most importing is that a hypothetical Good List Criteria would NOT differ in any significant way from Featured List Criteria and thus it would be a redundant process. Please nominate the article at WP:FLC if you seek commendation for this article, people that comment there are very constructive in their comments and this article is not far from Featured status IMHO. I would probably be close to supporting it myself as such. For the record, the article was the subject of a reassessment discussion which was mistaken by dozens of users as a deletion discussion; the discussion was not terribly constructive, but it is archived here: Wikipedia:Good article reassessment/Archive 30 for anyone who cares to read it all. --Jayron32|talk|contribs 02:35, 6 October 2007 (UTC)