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; Levy served in the War of 1812. 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. On July 16, 1862, Flag Officer David Glasgow Farragut became the first Hispanic-American to be appointed to the rank of rear admiral. 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.
Terminology Admiral, a word that stems from Medieval Latin forms of the Arabic title emir ("commander"),. is the rank of the highest naval officers. Admirals are now the highest-ranking "flag officers" in the U.S. Navy, although from the American Revolution until 1862, the U.S. Navy had no admiral rank.
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.
David Glasgow 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 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.
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 , captured an enemy vessel and, at the age of 12 he was given the assignment to bring the ship safely to port.
Civil War In April 1862, Farragut was the "flag officer" in command of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron. With his flagship, the , 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.
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 , one of the ships under his command, struck a mine and went down, Farragut shouted through a trumpet from his flagship to the , "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.
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.
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.
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. 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. 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 Louis Riefkohl, a Puerto Rican who graduated in the class of 1911.
The academy's Hispanic alumni
Commodore Robert F. Lopez, USN – USNA Class of 1879. Born in Davenport, Iowa. Appointed from Tennessee, 9th Congressional District, Lopez was admitted to the USNA on September 29, 1874. Lopez retired from the Navy in 1911 as a captain. During World War I, he was recalled to active duty and given the rank of commodore (equivalent to a one-star admiral rank, typically used during wartime) to command the Mare Island Naval Shipyard.United States Naval Academy records on Robert F. Lopez. Rear Admiral Frederick Lois Riefkohl, USN – USNA Class of 1911. Born and raised in Maunabo, Puerto Rico, he is the first Puerto Rican to graduate from the Naval Academy. He was a World War I Navy Cross recipient who served as captain of the heavy cruiser during World War II. Rear Admiral Jose M. Cabanillas, USN – USNA Class of 1924. Born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, was an executive officer of the battleship , which participated in the invasions of North Africa and Normandy (D-Day) during World War II. In 1945, he became the first commanding officer of the attack transport . Rear Admiral Edmund Ernest García, USN – USNA Class of 1927. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, his father Enrique Garcia was a captain in the U.S. Army. He was originally a member of the Class of 1926 but requested to be turned back to the class of 1927 for academic deficiency in mathematics. During World War II was commander of the destroyer , and saw action in the invasions of Africa, Sicily, and France. Rear Admiral Henry G. Sanchez, USN – USNA Class of 1930. Born on December 29, 1907. During World War II, then-LCDR Sanchez commanded VF-72, an F4F squadron of 37 aircraft, on board the carrier from July to October 1942. His squadron was responsible for shooting down 38 Japanese airplanes during his command tour which included the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands. Admiral Horacio Rivero, Jr., USN – USNA Class of 1931. Was the first four-star admiral from Puerto Rico and the second Hispanic-American full admiral, after Admiral David Farragut, in the Navy. Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, and graduated third in his USNA class. During World War II, he served aboard the light cruiser and was involved in providing artillery cover for Marines landing on Guadalcanal, Marshall Islands, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. In October 1962, Admiral Rivero found himself in the middle of the Cuban Missile Crisis. 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 III.
Rear Admiral Rafael Celestino Benítez, USN – USNA Class of 1939. Born in Juncos, Puerto Rico, was a Lieutenant Commander and saw action aboard submarines and on various occasions weathered depth charge attacks. For his actions, he was awarded the Silver and Bronze Stars. Benitez would later play an important role in the first American undersea spy mission of the Cold War as commander of the submarine in what became known as the "Cochino Incident".
Vice Admiral Jesse J. Hernandez, USN – USNA Class of 1958. Hernandez was the commander of US Naval Forces Japan from 1990 to 1993.
Rear Admiral Benjamin F. Montoya, USN – USNA Class of 1958 (Ret.). A native of Indio, California, Montoya served in various positions during his naval career. Montoya's academic accomplishments include a civil engineering degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a master's degree in environmental engineering from Georgia Tech and a law degree from Georgetown University. He was the chief of the Navy Civil Engineer Corps and commander of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command.
Rear Admiral Henry F. Herrera, USN – USNA Class of 1966.(Ret.) Herrera was born in Miami Springs, Florida, is the president of the Board of Inspection and Survey, the commander of Submarine Group NINE, and the director of C41 Systems (J-6), U.S. Strategic Command. He had previously, served as the commanding officer of two fleet ballistic missile submarines.
Rear Admiral Marc Y.E. Pelaez, USN – USNA Class of 1968 (Ret.). Pelaez served in various positions in the Navy during his career, among them commanding officer of nuclear-powered attack submarine . From 1990 to 1993 he served as the executive assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and from 1993 to 1996 as director of submarine technology at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and chief of the Office of Naval Research. As a civilian he serves as director of Technology / Scientific and Technical Instruments at II-VI Incorporated, Saxonburg, Pennsylvania.
Rear Admiral George "Rico" Mayer, USN – USNA Class of 1975. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, became a naval aviator and assumed his current assignment as commander of the Naval Safety Center, in August 2005. Mayer earned a master's degree from the U.S. Naval War College.
Rear Admiral Jay A. DeLoach, USN – USNA Class of 1978. Born in San Diego, California, His academic background includes a Bachelor of Science degree in marine engineering and two master's degrees; Master of Arts in Management & Supervision and Masters of Engineering in Nuclear Engineering. DeLoach is the assistant deputy chief of naval operations for resources, requirements and assessments. DeLoach played an instrumental role in implementing a visionary "Memorandum of Understanding" between the Submarine Force Active component and the Reserve component. He helped pioneer many key initiatives that have since been adopted Navy-wide. Rear Admiral Patrick H. Brady, USN – USNA Class of 1981. Born in Camp Springs, Maryland, is the deputy director of the Submarine Warfare Division (N87B). Brady, who is of Irish and Hispanic descent graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science in Ocean Engineering. Brady's academic accomplishments also include a Master of Arts in National Security Affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School. He attended the Air Force Command and Staff College, and completed Navy Nuclear Power training and Level Three acquisition training. Prior to his current position, Brady was the commander of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center.