Pedro del Valle
Pedro del Valle | |
---|---|
1st Marine Division | |
Battles/wars | Banana Wars
|
Awards | See military awards |
Pedro Augusto del Valle (August 28, 1893 – April 28, 1978) was a
Early years
Del Valle was born on August 28, 1893, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, when the island was still under Spanish colonial rule. His father was Dr. Pedro del Valle, who served as inspector general for the Spanish Colonial Government during the Spanish–American War.[1] In 1900, two years after the war, the del Valle family moved to Maryland. His uncle, Dr. Francisco del Valle, a surgeon, stayed in Puerto Rico and served as Mayor of San Juan from 1907 to 1910. The del Valle family became U.S. citizens as a result of the Jones–Shafroth Act of 1917 which gave a United States Citizenship with limited rights to all the Puerto Ricans born on the island.[2] He received his primary and secondary education in Maryland.
On June 17, 1911, after he graduated from high school, del Valle received an appointment by
Military career
Following the graduation, del Valle participated in the expeditionary duty in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, in 1916. Del Valle commanded the Marine detachment on board the USS Texas (BB-35) in the North Atlantic during World War I. In 1919, he participated in the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet.[2] Later he served as "Aide-de-camp" to Major General Joseph Henry Pendleton after serving on a tour of sea duty aboard the USS Wyoming (BB-32). His job included an inspection tour of the West Indies in the company of General Pendleton.[2]
Banana Wars
In 1926, del Valle served with the Gendarmerie of Haiti for three years and, during that time, he also became active in the war against Augusto César Sandino in Nicaragua. In 1929, he returned to the United States and attended the Field Officers Course at the Marine Corps School in MCB Quantico, Virginia.[2]
In 1931, Brigadier General Randolph C. Berkeley appointed del Valle to the "Landing Operations Text Board" in Quantico, the first organizational step taken by the Marines to develop a working doctrine for amphibious assault. In 1932, he wrote an essay titled "Ship-to-Shore in Amphibious Operations" which was published in the Marine Corps Gazette. In his essay, he stressed the importance of a coordinated amphibious assault and of an execution of an opposed landing.[5]
He worked as an intelligence officer in
During the course of his service, De Valle revealed himself to be a fervent admirer of Benito Mussolini.[7] He became a close friend of antisemitic propagandist James True and distributed "subversive" literature from George Deatherage’s Knights of the White Camellia and William Dudley Pelly's Silver Shirts.[8][9] In 1939, he was ordered to attend the Army War College in Washington, D.C., and after graduating was named executive officer of the Division of Plans and Policies, USMC.[2][6]
World War II
In March 1941, del Valle became the
Major General Alexander Vandegrift, impressed with del Valle's leadership recommended his promotion and on October 1, 1942, del Valle became a brigadier general. Vandegrift retained del Valle as head of the 11th Marines, the only time that the regiment has ever had a general as their commanding officer.[5] In 1943, he served as Commander of Marine Forces overseeing Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and the Russell and Florida Islands. He was decorated with the Legion of Merit for his merits during Guadalcanal campaign.[11]
On April 1, 1944, del Valle, was the commanding general of the Third Corps Artillery, III Marine Amphibious Corps, which participated in the Battle of Guam. He was awarded a gold star in lieu of a second Legion of Merit. The men under his command did such a good job with their heavy artillery that no one man could be singled out for commendation. Instead, each man was given a letter of commendation by del Valle which was carried in their record books.[12]
In late October 1944, he succeeded Major General William H. Rupertus as commanding general of the 1st Marine Division, being personally greeted in his new command by Colonel Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller. At the time, the 1st Marine Division was training on the island of Pavuvu for the invasion of Okinawa. He subsequently led the division throughout the campaign.[13] Del Valle was awarded a Distinguished Service Medal for his leadership during the battle and the subsequent occupation and reorganization of Okinawa.[5]
The "very surprising and unpatriotic utterances" del Valle had been making since 1941 led however to three separate investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of Naval Intelligence and the War Office's Military Intelligence Department. Colonel Housewitz, an aide to Marine Corps General Clifton B. Cates, stated that although del Valle had formerly been "a very important figure in military circles", he was now "more or less an embarrassment to the Marine Corps as a result of his loudly voiced antisemitic statements."[8][9]
Postwar
After World War II ended, del Valle was ordered back to
Later years
After retiring from the Marine Corps, del Valle worked as a representative of
Believing that the United States was in danger of a communist threat, del Valle tried to convince the Central Intelligence Agency and Department of Defense to form a vigilante minuteman group. He also believed that the CIA should operate behind Russian and Chinese lines. After his ideas were turned down, he decided to form his own group.[16]
On July 24, 1953, del Valle met with Colonel John H. Hoffman, Colonel Eugene Cowles Poneroy, Brigadier General
Del Valle ran for governor of Maryland in 1954 and was defeated in his attempt to be nominated in the Republican primary election. The controversial views shared by some of the members of "DAC" was to blame for the organization's decline in popularity.[16]
In Task Force, del Valle expressed considerable admiration for the work of a British fascist journalist
Lieutenant General Pedro del Valle was married to Katharine Nelson (1890–1983). He died on April 28, 1978, in Annapolis, Maryland, and was buried at the United States Naval Academy Cemetery and Columbarium. After del Valle's death at age 85, the DAC ceased to exist.[19] The American scholar William C. Baum wrote that del Valle displayed all of the signs of a deeply paranoid personality, leading him to conclude that del Valle was "not part of an authentic conservative tradition of thought in America" as he expressed "...abnormal amounts of anger and frustration" in his writings and he had "more in common with the character of General Jack D. Ripper in the memorable film Dr. Strangelove than with those with a considered commitment to the tenets of modern conservative thought".[20]
In 2018 Pedro del Valle was posthumously inducted to the Puerto Rico Veterans Hall of Fame.[21]
Publications
- Diary and reports of the U.S. naval observer of Italian Operations in East Africa: March 1937, 1937
- Roman Eagles Over Ethiopia, 1940
- Guam, the Classical Amphibious Operation, 1944
- Massed Fires on Guam, 1944
- Semper fidelis: An autobiography, 1976
Military awards
Lieutenant General Pedro del Valle's decorations and awards include:
1st row | Navy Distinguished Service Medal | Legion of Merit with Gold Star |
Navy and Marine Corps Medal | Combat Action Ribbon | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2nd row | Navy Presidential Unit Citation with Bronze Star |
Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal with Bronze Star |
Dominican Campaign Medal | World War I Victory Medal with Bronze star | ||||||||
3rd row | Haitian Campaign Medal | Nicaraguan Campaign Medal | American Defense Service Medal | American Campaign Medal | ||||||||
4th row | Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with Silver Star |
World War II Victory Medal
|
Order of the Crown of Italy | Italian East African Medal | ||||||||
5th row | Colonial Order of the Star of Italy | Italian Bronze Medal of Military Valor | Cuban Order of Naval Merit 2nd class |
Ecuadorian Order of Abdon Calderón 1st class with Diploma |
See also
- List of Puerto Ricans
- List of Puerto Rican military personnel
- Puerto Ricans in World War I
- Puerto Ricans in World War II
- List of historically notable United States Marines
- Hispanics in the United States Marine Corps
- Hispanics in the United States Naval Academy
References
- ^ Ediciones Digitales
- ^ a b c d e f g "Lieutenant General Pedro A. Del Valle, USMC". Who's Who in Marine Corps History. History Division, United States Marine Corps. Archived from the original on 2011-05-16. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
- ISBN 978-0-8078-4938-5. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
- ^ Berry, Henry (1982). Semper Fi, MAC. Quill, William Morrow, New York. p. 42.
- ^ a b c d
Alexander, Col. Joseph H., USMC (1966). ""Senior Marine Commanders"". The Final Campaign: Marines in the Victory on Okinawa. Quantico, Virginia: Marines in World War II Commemorative Series, History Division, United States Marine.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "Marine Corps History Bookstore". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
- OCLC 44089138.
- ^ S2CID 153984405.
- ^ a b "Del Valle, Pedro Augusto". FBI file 100-74493.
- ^ Frank, Guadalcanal, p. 156-158 & 681 and Smith, Bloody Ridge, p. 43.
- ^ "Hispanics in America's defense : [Washington, D.C.?] :Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Manpower and Personnel Policy :[Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O., distributor]". Internet Archive. 10 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- ^ Emmet, Brief History of the 11th Marines.
- ^ THE FINAL CAMPAIGN: Marines in the Victory on Okinawa. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
- ^ "Truman's calendar: February 19, 1946". The President's Day. Independence, Missouri: Truman Presidential Museum & Library. 2006. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
- ^ "Jesus T. Piñero". Hispanic Americans in Congress, 1822-1995. Library of Congress. January 12, 1997. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
- ^ a b c Coogan, K. "The Defenders of the American Constitution and the League of Empire Loyalists: The First Postwar Anglo-American Revolts Against the 'One World Order'". Archived from the original on August 23, 2006. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
- ^ a b c Mulhall, Joe British Fascism After the Holocaust: From the Birth of Denial to the Notting Hill Riots 1939–1958, London: Routledge, 2020 p. 184
- ^ "Genesis of The Nationalist Movement". Archived from the original on 2007-07-14. Retrieved 2006-06-20.
- ^ "Cemetery Inventory Form: Del Valle, Pedor A. & Katharine Nelson" (PDF). USNA Cemetery Documentation Project. United States Naval Academy Cemetery & Columbarium. 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
- ^ Baum 1999, p. 410-411.
- ^ "Salón de la Fama".
Further reading
- Baum, William (1999). "Task Force". In Ronald Lora & William Henry Longton (ed.). The Conservative Press in Twentieth-century America. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 405–411. ISBN 0313213909.
- "Lieutenant General Pedro A. Del Valle, USMC". Who's Who in Marine Corps History. History Division, United States Marine Corps. Archived from the original on 2011-05-16. Retrieved 2007-10-01.
- Alexander, Colonel Joseph H., USMC (Ret) (1996). "Senior Marine Commanders". The Final Campaign: Marines in the Victory on Okinawa. Marines in World War II Commemorative Series, United States Marine Corps. Archived from the original on 2006-05-12. Retrieved 2006-06-14.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
- Coogan, Kevin. "Defenders of the American Constitution and the League of Empire Loyalists: The First Postwar Anglo-American Revolts Against the "One World Order"". Archived from the original on August 23, 2006. Retrieved 2006-06-20.
- Emmet, 2ndLt Robert, USMCR (1968). A Brief History of the 11th Marines. Historical Branch, Headquarters Marine Corps, United States Marine Corps. Archived from the original on 2006-06-18. Retrieved 2006-06-14.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- Renda, Mary A. (2000). Taking Haiti: Military Occupation and the Culture of U.S. Imperialism, 1915–1940. University of North Carolina Press. p. 61. ISBN 978-0-8078-6218-6.
- "About Roman Eagles over Ethiopia by Colonel Pedro del Valle, USMC". Marine Corps History Bookstore. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-10-16.
External links
- Pedro del Valle papers at the University of Oregon
- Media related to Pedro A. del Valle at Wikimedia Commons