Puerto Rican Military Personnel - Notable Puerto Ricans Who Served in The Military

The following are the names of notable Puerto Rican men and women or people of Puerto Rican descent who served in the military of Spain, Cuba, Venezuela, England, United States or of that of any other country and have gained fame through previous or subsequent endeavors, infamy, or successes:

A

• Joseph M. Acaba, U.S. Marine Corps - Astronaut, scientist, educator
  First Puerto Rican astronaut
• Johnny Albino, U.S. Army - bolero singer
• Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos, U.S. Army - Politician
  President and principal leader of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party.
• Dr. Carlos Albizu Miranda, U.S. Army - Psychologist, educator
  First Hispanic Educator to have a North American University renamed in his honor and one of the first Hispanics to earn a Ph.D. in Psychology in the United States.

B

• Ray Barretto, U.S. Army - Percussionist, jazz and salsa leader
• Dr. Víctor Manuel Blanco, U.S. Army Air Force - Astronomer
  In 1959, Blanco discovered "Blanco 1," a galactic cluster. Blanco was the second Director of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, which has the largest 4-m telescope in the Southern Hemisphere, In 1995, the telescope was dedicated in his honor and named the "Víctor M. Blanco Telescope" and is also known as the "Blanco 4m"
• Dr. Frank Bonilla, U.S. Army - Academic of Puerto Rican descent
  Bonilla became a leading figure in Puerto Rican Studies.

C

• Roberto Clemente, U.S. Marine Corps - Major League baseball player,
  First native Puerto Rican to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
• Francisco J. Collazo, U.S. Army - Businessman
  Founder of "COLSA Corporation", a first-rate provider of engineering and support services in Huntsville, Alabama.

D

• Dr. Carlos Del Castillo, U.S. Army - Scientist
  Recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) award, the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers.

E

• Sixto Escobar, U.S. Army - Boxer
  First Puerto Rican world champion and member of Boxing Hall of Fame.
• Nicholas Estavillo, U.S. Marine Corps - Former Chief of Patrol, NYPD
  In 2002, Estavillo became the first Puerto Rican and the first Hispanic in the history of the NYPD to reach the three-star rank of Chief of Patrol.
• Noel Estrada, U.S. Army - Composer
  Composer of "En Mi Viejo San Juan."

F

• Pedro Flores, U.S. Army - Composer
  One of Puerto Rico's best known composers of Ballads and Boleros.

G

• Dr. Joxel García, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Physician
  García is a former four-star admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. He served as the thirteenth Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH).
• José Gautier Benítez, Spanish Army - Poet
  Considered by many to be Puerto Rico's best poet of the Romantic Era.
• Aníbal González Irizarry, U.S. Army - Journalist
  Former newscaster for "Telenoticias en accion."

H

• Rafael Hernández, U.S. Army - Composer
  Composer of "Preciosa" and "Lamento Borincano"
• Lorenzo Homar, U.S. Army - Visual artist
  Considered by many to be Puerto Rico's greatest graphic artist.

L

• Dr. Jacob Lozada, U.S. Army - Management Consultant
  Nominated by President George W. Bush to be Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

M

• José "Aguila Blanca" (White Eagle) Maldonado Román, Cuban Liberation Army - Puerto Rican revolutionary
  His controversial exploits in Puerto Rico have contributed to making him part of Puerto Rican lore.
• Hugo Margenat, U.S. Army - Poet
  Margenat was the founder of the political youth pro-independence organizations "Acción Juventud Independentista" and "Federación de Universitarios Pro Independencia"
• Ángel Mislan, Spanish Army - Composer of Danzas
• William Miranda Marín, Puerto Rico Army National Guard PRNG - Politician
  Miranda was the former mayor of Caguas, Puerto Rico from 1996 till 2010. He was also the Adjusting General (Mayor General) for the Puerto Rico National Guard from 1990 till 1992 and

P

• Antonio Paoli, Spanish Army - Tenor, opera singer
  First person in history to record an entire opera
• Pedro Pietri, U.S. Army - Nuyorican poet and playwright
  Pietri co-founded the Nuyorican Poets Café.

R

• Sylvia Rexach, U.S. Women's Army Corps - Singer, composer
• Marie Teresa Ríos, U.S. Women's Army Corps - Author
  Author of the novel "The Fifteenth Pelican," which was the basis for the popular 1960s television sitcom, The Flying Nun.
• Tomás "Maso Rivera" Rivera Morales, U.S. Army - Composer
  Composed over 1,000 instrumental compositions for the cuatro.
• Juan "Chi-Chi" Rodríguez, U.S. Army - Professional golfer
  He is the first Puerto Rican to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

S

• Joe Sánchez, U.S. Army - Author and former New York City police officer
  Sánchez is a highly decorated former New York City police officer, and author whose books give an insight as to the corruption within the department.
• Daniel Santos, U.S. Army - Composer
  Singer of boleros
• Miguel Ángel Suárez, U.S. Navy - Actor, playwright, stage director
  Acted in various films such as Stir Crazy and Under Suspicion.
• Ray Suarez, U.S. Marine Corps - Politician
  Alderman of the 31st ward in Chicago.

T

• Francisco Torralbo, Spanish Army - Politician
  Torralbo served as Spanish acting governor of Puerto Rico on two occasions, 1789 and 1792–1793, both ad interim.
• Guillermo José Torres, U.S. Army - Journalist
  Television reporter and news anchorman
• José "Chegui" Torres, U.S. Army - Boxer
  Light Heavyweight Championship and member of Boxing Hall of Fame.
• Rafael Tufiño, U.S. Army - Painter and printmaker

V

• Antonio J. Vicens, U.S. Army - Adjutant General of the Puerto Rico National Guard.

• Juan Emilio Viguié, U.S. Army - Pioneer movie producer who produced Romance Tropical, the first Puerto Rican film with sound.

Z

• David Zayas, U.S. Air Force - Theatrical, film, and television actor
  He is most known for his roles as Angel Batista on Showtime's series Dexter and as Enrique Morales on the HBO prison drama Oz.