User:Marine 69-71/Non Puerto Rican military bios.

Non Puerto Rican military bios. (non-Puerto Ricans)


 * Adolfo Fernández Cavada, Captain (Union Army) - Cavada served in the 114th Pennsylvania Volunteers at Gettysburg with his brother, Colonel Federico Fernandez Cavada. He served with distinction in the Army of the Potomac from Fredericksburg to Gettysburg and was a "special aide-de-camp" to General Andrew A. Humphreys.


 *  Alexander Joseph Foley, Sgt. (U.S. Marine Corps MoH) - Foley was a member of the United States Marine Corps who was awarded the United States' highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for having distinguished himself during the Boxer Rebellion.


 * Ambrosio José Gonzales, Colonel (Confederate Army)(May 24, 2011+ version) - Gonzales, a native Cuban, became a U.S. Citizen in 1849 and settled in Beaufort, South Carolina. Gonzales was active during the bombardment of Fort Sumter and because of his actions was appointed Lt. Colonel of artillery and assigned to duty as Chief of Artillery in the department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Gonzales, who served as a special aide to the governor of South Carolina, submitted plans for the defense of the coastal areas of his homeland state.


 * Carmelita Vigil-Schimmenti, Brigadier General (U.S. Air Force) -  Vigil-Schimmenti was the first Hispanic female to attain the rank of Brigadier General in the USAF.


 *  Clarence Samuels, Lieutenant Junior Grade (U.S. Coast Guard) - Samuels was the first Hispanic American of African descent photographer in the United States Coast Guard, to command a cutter, as well as the first one to be a commanding officer of a Coast Guard vessel during wartime.


 *  Diego Archuleta, Brigadier General (Union Army) - Archuleta was a member of the Mexican Army who fought against the United States in the Mexican American War. During the American Civil War he joined the Union Army (US Army) and became the first Hispanic to reach the military rank of Brigadier General. He commanded The First New Mexico Volunteer Infantry in the Battle of Valverde.He was later appointed an Indian (Native Americans) Agent by Abraham Lincoln.


 * Federico Fernández Cavada, Colonel (Union Army) - Cuban born Cavada Commanded the 114th Pennsylvania Volunteer infantry regiment when it took the field in the Peach Orchard at Gettysburg. Because of his artistic talents, he was assigned to the Hot Air Balloon unit of the Union Army. From the air he sketched what he observed of the enemy movements. On April 19, 1862, Federico sketched enemy positions from Thaddeus Lowe's Constitution balloon during the Peninsula Campaign in Virginia. Cavada was captured during the Battle of Gettysburg and sent to Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia. Cavada was released in 1864 and later published a book entitled "LIBBY LIFE: Experiences of A Prisoner of War in Richmond, VA, 1863-64", which told about the cruel treatment which he received in the Confederate prison.


 * Francisco Mercado, Jr., Lieutenant (U.S. Army Air Force) - Mercado was the recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross who earned his membership to the exclusive “Caterpillar Club” having saved his life by parachuting over England while returning from a mission with a crippled B-24 during World War II.


 * Guy Gabaldon, PFC (U.S. Marine Corps)(11-5-07+ version) - Gabaldon captured (or persuaded to surrender) roughly 1,500 Japanese soldiers and civilians during the Battle of Saipan (1944) in World War II.


 * Herman Bottcher, Major (U.S. Army) - During World War II Bottcher was awarded two U.S. Distinguished Service Crosses, the second highest U.S. military decoration after the Medal of Honor.


 * Jay A. DeLoach, Rear Admiral (U.S. Navy) - DeLoach is the Director of Naval History and Director of the Naval History and Heritage Command and the Curator of the Navy.


 * John Jackson Dickison, Colonel (Confederate Army) - Dickison is remembered as being the person who led the attack which resulted in the capture of the USS Columbine, Union warship in the "Battle of Horse Landing". This was one of the few instances in which a Union warship was captured by land-based Confederate forces during the Civil War and the only known incident in US history where a cavalry unit sank an enemy gunboat.


 * Joseph V. Medina, Brigadier General (U.S. Marine Corps) -  On November 2003, Medina took command of Expeditionary Strike Group Three. This event marked the first time in history that a United States Marine Corps officer took command of a Naval flotilla.


 * Kathlene Contres, Captain (U.S. Navy) - Contres is a former American Naval officer who was the Navy’s highest ranking female Hispanic Line Officer on active duty.


 * Lola Sánchez (Confederate spy) - Sánchez was a Cuban born woman who became upset when her father was accused of being a Confederate spy by the Union Forces and sent to prison. This event angered and inspired her to become a Confederate spy. Because of the information which she provided, the Confederate soldiers were able to surprise the Union troops, in what became known as the "Battle of Horse Landing",[18] and capture the USS Columbine, a Union warship in the only known incident in US history where a cavalry unit captured and sank an enemy gunboat.


 * Louis Gonzaga Mendez Jr., Colonel (U.S. Army) - Gonzaga Mendez was a highly decorated United States Army officer of the 82nd Airborne Division who in June 1944, as commander of the 3rd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment during World War II, parachuted behind enemy lines into Normandy and was awarded a Distinguished Service Cross for leading an attack that captured the French town of Prétot-Vicquemare, in the Seine-Maritime department.


 * Mercedes O. Cubria, Lieutenant Colonel (U.S. Army} - Cubria was the first Cuban-born female officer in the U.S. Army. She served in the Women's Army Corps during World War II, in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, and was recalled into service during the Cuban Missile Crisis. In 1988, she was posthumously inducted into the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame.


 * Marcelino Serna, Pvt. (U.S. Army) - Serna was an undocumented Mexican immigrant who joined the United States Army and became the most decorated soldier from Texas in World War I. Serna was the first Hispanic to be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.


 * Oscar F. Perdomo, Major (U.S. Air Force) - Perdomo was a United States Air Force officer who was the last “Ace in a day” for the United States in World War II.


 * Pascal Olivier Count de Negroni, General (French Army) - Led the charge of Cuirassiers in the Battle of Reichshoffen during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.


 * Patrick H. Brady, Rear Admiral (U.S. Navy) - Brady was the first person of Hispanic descent to be named Commander of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center.


 * Ramona M. Valdez, Corporal (U.S. Marine Corps) - Valdez was a United States Marine who was posthumously honored by the Marine Corps when the II MEF Communications Training Center was dedicated as the Valdez Training Facility.


 * Ronald J. Rabago, Rear Admiral (U.S. Coast Guard) - Rabago is the first person of Hispanic American descent to be promoted to flag rank in the United States Coast Guard.


 * Terry de la Mesa Allen, Sr., Major General (U. S. Army) - Allen was a decorated World War I veteran who commanded the First Infantry Division in North Africa and Sicily during 1942-43. He was later selected to lead the 104th Infantry Division as divisional commander, a post he held until the end of World War II.


 * William Walter Kouts, Captain (U.S. Army) - For over 60 years, Kouts searched for the family of the person who saved his life and in 2007 became the subject of the news media when he finally found the surviving son of Gonzales, David Jr.


 * Philip Edward Tovrea Jr. 1st‎ Lt. (USAAF) - Tovrea was a U.S. Army Air Forces World War II ACE who was awarded the Silver Star Medal for gallantry and the Distinguished Flying Cross for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight while serving as a P-38 Fighter Pilot of the 27th Fighter Squadron. He is credited with shooting down 8 enemy aircraft in aerial combat.

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