Horacio Rivero Jr.

Horacio Rivero Jr. (May 16, 1910 – September 24, 2000), was the first

Rivero was born and raised in the city of Ponce, located in the southern coast of Puerto Rico, where he also received his primary and secondary education.

Military career

On June 20, 1927, he received an appointment from the Honorable Felix Cordova Davila, Puerto Rico's Resident Commissioner, to attend the United States Naval Academy. On June 4, 1931, he graduated third in a class of 441 from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Rivero's first assignment was aboard the USS Northampton (CA-26). From 1932 to 1936 he served aboard the following ships: USS Chicago (CA-29), USS New Mexico (BB-40), USS California (BB-44) and USS Pennsylvania (BB-38). He earned his master's degree in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1940 and in 1941 married Hazel Hooper.^[2]

World War II

During

After the war, Rivero commanded the

Rivero studied nuclear weaponry at the National War College and in 1954 he became Assistant Chief of Staff for Naval Operations. In 1955, he was promoted to the rank of rear admiral and was a member of the Staff of the Commander in Chief, Western Atlantic Area.^[1]

Between January 1958 and March 1959, he served as Commander Destroyer Flotilla One (COMDESFLOT ONE) headquartered in Yokosuka, Japan. ^[5]

Cuban Missile Crisis

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a tense confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States over the Soviet deployment of nuclear missiles in Cuba. On October 22, 1962, Admiral Rivero was the commander of the American fleet sent by President John F. Kennedy to set up a quarantine (blockade) of the Soviet ships in an effort to stop the Cold War from escalating into World War III. On October 28, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev ordered the removal of the Soviet missiles in Cuba, and Kennedy ordered an end of the quarantine of Cuba on November 20, bringing an end to the crisis.^[6][7]

Rivero was named Vice Chief of Naval Operations after the previous VCNO, Claude V. Ricketts, died in office on July 6, 1964. On July 31, 1964, Rivero became the first Puerto Rican, and the second Hispanic to become a four-star admiral in the modern era US Navy.

Vietnam War

During the Vietnam War, Rivero oversaw the day-to-day work of the Navy as the Vice Chief of Naval Operations. He was a stern supporter of a "brown-water navy," or riverine force, on the rivers of South Vietnam.^[1]

USS Liberty incident

While serving as the Vice Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Rivero spoke out in favor of the survivors of the 1967 USS Liberty incident. He said his “most prominent memory of the Liberty” was “My anger and frustration at our not punishing the attackers.”^[8]

NATO commander

From 1968 until his retirement from the Navy in 1972, Admiral Rivero was the

Rivero died on September 24, 2000, and was buried with full military honors in the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery of San Diego, California. He was survived by a daughter, two grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and two sisters, both of Puerto Rico.^[9] On November 11, 2008, the government of Puerto Rico unveiled in the Capitol Rotunda the oil portrait of Admiral Horacio Rivero Jr.

Awards and recognitions

Among Admiral Rivero's decorations and medals were the following:

On April 1, 2017, the

In 2017 Horacio Rivero Jr. was posthumously inducted to the Puerto Rico Veterans Hall of Fame.^[12]

Further reading

• "Puertorriquenos Who Served With Guts, Glory, and Honor. Fighting to Defend a Nation Not Completely Their Own"; by : Greg Boudonck;
  ISBN 978-1497421837

• Hispanic Admirals in the United States Navy
• List of Puerto Ricans
• Puerto Ricans in World War II
• List of Puerto Rican military personnel
• Hispanics in the United States Navy
• Hispanics in the United States Naval Academy

References

Further reading

• "Hispanics in America's Defense" by Diane Publishing Company; Pages 88–89; Published 1997;
  ISBN 0-7881-4722-6
• Jeffrey G. Barlow (22 September 2003). "Some Aspects of the United States Navy's Participation in the Cuban Missile Crisis". Colloquium on Contemporary History. Naval Historical Center, United States Navy. Retrieved 2006-10-21.

External links

• American Veteran's Committee for Puerto Rico Self-Determination. Retrieved 2006-10-21.
• "Index to Politicians". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved 2006-10-21.
• "Honoring Admiral Horacio Rivero". La Casa de Puerto Rico, San Diego. Archived from the original on 2016-04-27. Retrieved 2006-08-17.
• "Ambassadors to Spain". United States Department of State.