Horacio Rivero
Rear Admiral Horacio Rivero (1910-2000) was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Rivero graduated 3rd in a class of 441 from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland on June 4, 1931. He also studied electrical engineering at Annapolis and at Cambridge.During World War II, he provided artillery cover for marines landing on Guadalcanal, Marshall Islands, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.
For his service he was awarded the Bronze Star with Combat "V" as well as the Legion of Merit among others.
After the war, Rivero continued to excel. He studied at the National War College and in 1954 he became Assistant Chief of Staff for Naval Operations.
In 1955 Rivero was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral and was a member of the Staff of the Commander in Chief, Western Atlantic Area.
In October 1962 Admiral Rivero found himself in the middle of the "Cuban Missile Crisis". As Commander of Amphibious forces, Atlantic fleet, he was on the front line of the vessels sent to the Caribbean by President Kennedy to stop the Cold War from escalating into World War III.
On July 31, 1964, Horacio Rivero made history by becoming the first Puerto Rican, and first Hispanic to become a four-star Admiral in the US Navy.
From 1968 until his retirement from the Navy in 1972, Admiral Rivero was the Commander of Allied Forces in Southern Europe. From 1972 to 1975 Admiral Rivero was the U.S. Ambassador to Spain.