Hispanic Admirals in the United States Navy

Hispanic Admirals in the United States Navy




First row:
Uriah Phillips Levy  David Glasgow Farragut  Edmund Ernest García
Second row:
Horacio Rivero, Jr.  Rafael Celestino Benítez
Third row:
Benjamin F. Montoya  Jay A. DeLoach  Patrick H. Brady

Hispanic Admirals in the United States Navy can trace their tradition of naval military service to the Hispanic sailors, who have served in the Navy during every war and conflict since the American Revolution. Prior to the Civil War, the highest rank reached by a Hispanic-American in the U.S. Navy was Commodore. Such was the case of Commodore Uriah Phillips Levy (1792–1862), a Sephardic Jew of Hispanic descent and great grandson of Dr. Samuel Nunez,[1] who 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 Theater's 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.

Terminology

Admiral, a word that stems from the Arabic term Amir-al-bahr (commander of the sea),[9] is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. Admirals are the highest-ranking officers in the U.S. Navy. However, through 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]

David Glasgow Farragut

Main article: David Farragut
Admiral David Farragut

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 SpanishCatalan 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 years he was given the assignment to bring the ship safely to port.[8]

Civil War

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]

United States Naval Academy

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]

The academy's Hispanic alumni

RADM Frederick Lois Riefkohl

Other Hispanic Admirals

RADM Alberto Díaz, Jr.
RADM Philip A. Dur

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.

Currently

RADM George "Rico" Mayer

As of April 2007, there are four Admirals in the Navy of Hispanic descent. They are:

See also

References

  1. Uriah P. Levy, retrieved October 2, 2007
  2. THE COMMODORE THE ADVENTUROUS LIFE OF URIAH P. LEVY (Hardcover); by Robert D., Gold, Albert Abrahams (Author); pg. 112; Publisher: Jewish Publication Society (1954) ASIN: B000IORAXI
  3. History of the Sephardic Jews
  4. URIAH P. LEVY Sephardic Jew
  5. Bernard D. Rostker, Harry J. Thie, James L. Lacy, Jennifer H. Kawata, Susanna W. Purnell. "Appendix A: A Short History of Officer Personnel Management" (PDF). The Defense Officer Personnel Management Act of 1980: A Retrospective Assessment. RAND Corporation. p. 77. ISBN 0-8330-1287-8. Retrieved 2007-04-15.
  6. 6.0 6.1 NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER, Retrieved October 2, 2007
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  10. History of the United States, Retrieved September 8, 2007
  11. Hispanic Population of the United States Current Population Survey Definition and Background, United States Census Bureau, Population Division, Ethnic & Hispanic Statistics Branch. Retrieved on August 24, 2007
  12. Who are Hispanic Americans?
  13. "Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin - 2000 Census Brief" (PDF). www.census.gov. March 2001. Retrieved 2007-10-04.
  14. Shippen, Edward (1883). Naval Battles, Ancient and Modern. J.C. McCurdy & Co. p. 638.
  15. "David Farragut". NNDB. Retrieved 2007-04-14.
  16. United States Naval Academy, Retrieved October 2, 2007
  17. Jennifer Bryan <bryan@usna.edu> 04/11/07; Obituary in NY Times, October 1, 1936 (page 25);
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 "Navy Board Retires Fourteen Officers". New York Times. July 4, 1911. p. 13. Retrieved 2007-10-14.
  19. ANSO, Retrieved October 2, 2007. Archived September 27, 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  20. Kelly L. Ross. "Military Rank". Proceedings of the Friesian School, Fourth Series. Retrieved 2007-04-15.
  21. United States Naval Academy records on Robert F. Lopez.
  22. David H. Lippman. "August 5, 1942 - August 8, 1942". World War II Plus 55. Retrieved 2007-04-13.
  23. Puerto Rico L-Archives, Retrieved Oct 3, 2007
  24. World War II Plus 55, Retrieved October 3, 2007
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  28. , Retrieved October 3, 2007
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  31. "Rear Admiral Benjamin F. Montoya, USN, Ret. - CEO, SmartSystems Technologies". NASA Advisory Council. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Archived from the original on 2008-12-01. Retrieved 2007-04-13.
  32. "History of the Board of Inspection and Survey". Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, United States Navy. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
  33. United States Navy press release (September 1993). "Navy Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Contributions". FindArticles.com. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
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  35. Forbes, Retrieved October 3, 2007
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  37. "Rear Admiral George E. Mayer, Commander, Naval Safety Center". U.S. Navy Biographies. United States Navy. Retrieved 2007-04-13.
  38. Rudi Williams (October 8, 2005). "Admiral Earns Executive Excellence Award from Hispanic Engineers". DefenseLINK News (U.S. Department of Defense). Retrieved 2007-04-17.
  39. "Rear Admiral Jay A. DeLoach". U.S. Navy Biographies. United States Navy. Retrieved 2007-04-08.
  40. Daily News online Retrieved: April 8, 2007
  41. Rear Admiral Patrick H. Brady Commander, Naval Undersea Warfare Center
  42. "Jose Luis Betancourt Jr., Influential Hispanic for 2002". 2002 Influentials. HispanicBusiness.com. Retrieved 2007-04-13.
  43. "Admiral Jose Luis Betancourt Jr.". Official site of MoH. Archived from the original on 2006-10-22. Retrieved October 3, 2007.
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  45. "General and Flag Officer Assignments". DefenseLINK News, U.S Department of Defense. August 7, 1998. Retrieved 2007-10-03.
  46. "Rear Admiral Philip A. Dur, USN (Retired)". USS Waddell.com. Archived from the original on 2006-12-09. Retrieved 2007-04-13.
  47. Hispanics in America's Defense. DIANE Publishing Company. 1997. ISBN 0-7881-4722-6. Retrieved 2007-04-13.
  48. United States Department of Veteran Affairs Retrieved April 15, 2007
  49. USS Missouri Command History, retrieved October 3, 2007 Archived September 27, 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  50. Hispanos en el Navy: Almirantes (Hispanics in the Navy: Admirals), Retrieved September 24, 2007
  51. United States Department of Defense, Retrieved October 3, 2007
  52. "Rear Admiral William D. "Will" Rodriguez, Chief Engineer, Space & Naval Warfare Systems Command". U.S. Navy Biographies. United States Navy. Retrieved 2007-04-13.
  53. Rodriguez Navy Bio, Retrieved October 2, 2007

External links