Military-related topics
- ... that Sergeants José and Francisco Díaz, members of the Toa Alta Militia who helped defeat Sir Ralph Abercromby and defend Puerto Rico from a British invasion in 1797, were cousins?[1]
- ... that Captain Iván Castro is the only blind officer serving in the United States Special Forces?[2]
- ... that Captain Félix Arenas Gaspar was a Puerto Rican Captain in the Spanish Army who was posthumously awarded the Cruz Laureada de San Fernando (Spain's version of the Medal of Honor) for his actions in the Rif War?[3]
- ... that Lieutenant Augusto Rodríguez, a Puerto Rican native who joined the 15th Connecticut Regiment (a.k.a. Lyon Regiment) of the United States Union Army, served in the defenses of Washington D.C. and led his men in the Battles of Fredericksburg and Wyse Fork in the American Civil War?[4]
- ... that Pedro Albizu Campos, who later became the leader of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, held the rank of lieutenant in the United States Army?
- ... that CWO2 Joseph B. Áviles, Sr. was the first Hispanic promoted Chief Petty Officer and later the first Hispanic Chief Warrant Officer in the United States Coast Guard?[5]
- ... that Private First Class Fernando Luis García was the first Puerto Rican, from a total of nine, to be awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously and that his remains were never recovered? There is a headstone with García's name in the Puerto Rico National Cemetery in the city of Bayamón, Puerto Rico.
- ... that On January 6, 1914, First Lieutenant Bernard L. Smith established the Marine Section of the Navy Flying School in the island municipality of Culebra?[6] As the number of Marine Aviators grew so did the avid desire to separate from Naval Aviation.[7] By doing so, the Marine Aviation was designated as separate from the United States Naval Aviation. The creation of a "Marine Corps Aviation Company" in Puerto Rico consisted of ten officers and forty enlisted men.[8]
- ... that when the United States entered World War II, the military was in need of nurses and that Puerto Rican nurses wanted to volunteer for service, however they were not accepted into the Army or Navy Nurse Corps?[9] In 1944, the Army Nurse Corps (ANC) decided to accept Puerto Rican nurses.
- ... that in World War II, Private First Class Joseph (José) R. Martínez , born in San Germán, Puerto Rico, became the first Puerto Rican to be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, second only to the Medal of Honor, when he destroyed a German Infantry unit and tank by providing heavy artillery fire, saving his platoon from being attacked in the process?[10][11]
- ^ Abercromby's Siege
- ^ Special Forces Soldier, Blinded in Battle, Determined to Keep Serving; Fox News
- ^ Felix Arenas Gaspar
- ^ "The Puerto Rican diaspora: historical perspectives"; By Carmen Teresa Whalen, Víctor Vázquez-Hernandez; page 176; Publisher: Temple University Press; ISBN-13: 9781592134137; ISBN: 1592134130
- ^ site United States Coast Guard
- ^ Condon, John Pomeroy (1993). "U.S. Marine Corps Aviation". 75th Year of Naval Aviation – Volume Five of a Commemorative Collection. History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps. p. 3. Retrieved August 24, 2009.[dead link]
- ^ Corum (2003), p.23.
- ^ Sherrod (1952), p.4–5.
- ^ Puerto Rican Woman in Defense of our country
- ^ The Puerto Rican Diaspora: Historical; By Carmen Teresa Whalen and Víctor Vázquez; Pg. 78; Published 2005 by Temple University Press; ISBN:1592134130
- ^ Irizarry's DSC Citation[dead link], Retrieved June 6, 2008