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José Millán-Astray y Terreros (July 5, 1879 – January 1, 1954) was the founder and first commander of the Spanish Foreign Legion, and a major early figure of Francisco Franco's Regime in Spain. Born in A Coruña, Galicia, his father was José Millán Astray, a lawyer, poet, librettist of the Zarzuela genre, and chief jailer of Madrid. His mother was Pilar Terreros Segade, an illustrator and comedic author. Though pressed to study the law, Millán-Astray aspired to a military career.

On August 30, 1894, he entered the Academia de Infantería de Toledo ("Infantry Academy of Toledo"). He graduated as a second lieutenant at the age of seventeen, and later served in the army in Madrid. On September 1, 1896, he enrolled in the Escuela Superior de Guerra ("Superior Military School"). Upon graduation, he joined the General staff of the Spanish army. Soon after, rebellion broke out in the Philippines, and he left his position to serve there as a volunteer. He would earn numerous decorations for his valor (Cruz de María Cristina, Cruz Roja al Mérito Militar, and Cruz Primera Clase al Mérito Militar) and became something of a war hero for his defence of the city of San Rafael, in which he fought off a rebel force of two thousand with only thirty men. He subsequently served in Morocco, where he lost an arm and an eye, earning the sobriquet Glorioso mutilado ("Glorious amputee"). Archives • Read more...