text: pedro del valle lieutenant general pedro augusto del valle ( august 28 , 1893 — april 28 , 1978 ) was a united states marine corps officer who became the first hispanic to reach the rank of lieutenant general . his military career included service in world war i , haiti and nicaragua during the banana wars of the 1920s , in the seizure of guadalcanal , and later as commanding general of the 1st marine division during world war ii . early years del valle was born on august 28 , 1893 in san juan , puerto rico when the island was still under spanish colonial rule . he was related to dr. francisco del valle , a surgeon who had served as mayor of san juan from 1907 to 1910 . in 1900 , two years after the spanish – american war , the del valle family moved to maryland where they became u.s. citizens ( the jones act of 1917 later gave united states citizenship to all puerto ricans born on the island ) . 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 george radcliffe colton , who served from 1909 to 1913 as the u.s. appointed governor of puerto rico , to attend the u.s. naval academy in annapolis , maryland . del valle graduated from the academy in june 1915 and was commissioned a second lieutenant of the marine corps on june 5 , 1915 . military career the banana wars & pre - world war ii pedro del valle helped the marine corps in the capture of santo domingo , dominican republic , in 1916 , for which he was awarded his first legion of merit . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . he worked as an intelligence officer in havana , cuba in 1933 under admiral charles freeman , following the cuban sergeant 's revolt . from 1935 – 1937 , del valle was assistant naval attache , attached to the american embassy to italy in rome . while on duty , del valle participated as an observer with the italian forces during the second italo - abyssinian war . the experiences which del valle gained as an observer led him to author the book " roman eagles over ethiopia " where he describes the events leading up to the italian expedition and the complete movements of combat operations by the italian army under generals de bono , badoglio , and graziani . 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 . world war ii on march 1941 , del valle became the commanding officer of the 11th marine regiment , ( artillery ) . upon the outbreak of world war ii , del valle led his regiment and participated in the guadalcanal campaign , providing artillery support for the 1st marine division . in the battle of the tenaru , the firepower provided by del valle 's artillery units killed many assaulting japanese soldiers before they ever reached the marine positions . the attackers were killed almost to the last man . the outcome of the battle was so stunning that the japanese commander , colonel kiyonao ichiki , committed seppuku shortly afterwards . 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 . in 1943 , he served as commander of marine forces overseeing guadalcanal , tulagi , and the russell and florida islands . on april 1 , 1944 , del valle , as commanding general of the third corps artillery , iii marine amphibious corps , took part in the battle of guam and was awarded an award 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 . 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 . del valle was awarded a distinguished service medal for his leadership during the battle and the subsequent occupation and reorganization of okinawa . post - world war ii after world war ii ended , del valle was ordered back to headquarters marine corps , where he was named inspector general , a position which he held until he retired on january 1 , 1948 . on february 19 , 1946 new mexico senator dennis chavez and del valle held a meeting with president harry s. truman in the white house , in which chavez recommended del valle for the position of governor of puerto rico . from 1898 to 1942 , the governors of the island were officials appointed by the president of the united states . local puerto rican politicians , such as luis muñoz marín , opposed the naming of del valle in favor of jesús t. piñero ; to which del valle eventually asked president truman to withdraw his name among those considered for the position . the first civilian and native puerto rican appointed governor of puerto rico thus became piñero in 1946 . if congress had not approved legislation in 1947 allowing puerto ricans to elect their own governor , del valle may have been appointed to the governorship . later years after retiring from the marine corps , del valle worked as a representative of itt in the company 's office in cairo , egypt . after some time with the company he was named president of itt for all south america in buenos aires , argentina , a position that he held until 1951 . 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 . in 1953 , del valle met with ltcol john h. hoffman , ltcol eugene cowles , brigadier general bonner fellers , and major general claire chennault ( usaf ) to form the " defenders of the american constitution " ( dac ) . dac 's main goal was to purge the united states of any communist influence . the idea behind the group was to organize the citizens in each state as vigilantes against sabotage and other forms of treason , then link them up in some national headquarters . del valle ran for governor of maryland in 1953 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 . on april 12 , 1961 , del valle invoked the protocols of the elders of zion ( an antisemitic hoax ) during a speech before the united states daughters of 1812 , in an attempt to " prove " that communism and socialism were introduced to russia by an " invisible government " whose intention was to destroy that country . del valle also belonged to a group known as the sons of liberty , established in 1967 in annapolis , maryland and named after the secret patriotic society which directed the actions of the boston tea party on december 13 , 1773 . lieutenant general pedro del valle was married to katharine nelson ( 1890 – 1983 ) . he died on april 28 , 1978 in annapolis , maryland and was buried in the united states naval academy cemetery and . after del valle ’ s death at age 85 , the dac ceased to exist . written works by pedro del valle books diary and reports of the u.s. naval observer of italian operations in east africa : march 1937 ( washington : government printing office , 1937 ) . roman eagles over ethiopia ( harrisburg , pa : military service pub . co . , 1940 ) . semper : an autobiography ( hawthorne , ca : christian book club of america , 1976 ) . lieutenant general pedro a. del valle , u.s. marine corps ( retired ) ( oral history program ) . articles " guam , the classical amphibious operation " military review ( 1944 ) . " massed fires on guam " marine corps gazette ( 1944 ) . awards and recognitions among lieutenant general pedro del valle 's decorations and medals were the following :