World War I
On April 6, 1917, the U.S. Congress declared war on Germany and officially entered World War I. At the time, soldiers and sailors with Spanish surnames or Spanish accents were sometimes the objects of ridicule and relegated to menial jobs. However, Hispanics continued to join the military and serve their nation.
Captain Robert F. Lopez retired from the Navy in 1911. 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 war time) to command the Mare Island Naval Shipyard.
Luis de Florez graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1911 before joining the Navy. During World War I he became a Naval Aviator. Commander de Flores is credited with numerous inventions which made better flight simulators and equipment for flight safety.
Lieutenant Frederick Lois Riefkohl (1889–1969), a native of Maunabo, Puerto Rico, became the first Puerto Rican to graduate from the USNA, and served as Commander of the Armed Guard of the USS Philadelphia. On August 2, 1917, after engaging an enemy submarine, he was awarded the Navy Cross, the second highest medal that can be awarded by the U.S. Navy
George E. Fernandez a Water Tender ( a first-class petty officer in charge in a fireroom) aboard the USS Shaw was awarded the Navy Cross on October 9, 1918, after his actions aboard the USS Shaw on October 9, 1918, when the Shaw collided with the RMS Aquitania and was cut in two and set on fire. Fernandez threw the ammunition that was piled on the deck of the Shaw overboard, saving the lives of many of his fellow crewmen.
Read more about this topic: Hispanics In The United States Navy
Famous quotes containing the words war i, world and/or war:
“There is the guilt all soldiers feel for having broken the taboo against killing, a guilt as old as war itself. Add to this the soldier’s sense of shame for having fought in actions that resulted, indirectly or directly, in the deaths of civilians. Then pile on top of that an attitude of social opprobrium, an attitude that made the fighting man feel personally morally responsible for the war, and you get your proverbial walking time bomb.”
—Philip Caputo (b. 1941)
“Everything in the world can be changed, my dear Florestan, but the human being.”
—Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921–1990)
“He was ... a degenerate gambler. That is, a man who gambled simply to gamble and must lose. As a hero who goes to war must die. Show me a gambler and I’ll show you a loser, show me a hero and I’ll show you a corpse.”
—Mario Puzo (b. 1920)