page_title: Hispanics in the United States Navy
section_title: World War I
hierarchical_section_title: Hispanics in the United States Navy / World War I
caption_attribution_description: English: Rear Admiral Frederick Lois Riefkohl, United States Navy
context_page_description: Hispanics in the United States Navy can trace their tradition of naval military service to men such as Lieutenant Jordi Farragut Mesquida, who served in the American Revolution. Hispanics, such as Seaman Philip Bazaar and Seaman John Ortega, have distinguished themselves in combat and have been awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration of the United States. Hispanics have also reached the top ranks of the navy, serving their country in sensitive leadership positions on domestic and foreign shores. Among those who have reached the highest ranks in the navy are Commodore Uriah Phillips Levy, of Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jewish descent, who participated in the War of 1812 as an assistant Sailing master; Admiral David Glasgow Farragut, for whom the rank of admiral in the U.S. Navy was created during the American Civil War; and Admiral Horacio Rivero, who led the navy during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
context_section_description: On April 6, 1917, the U.S. Congress declared war on Germany and officially entered World War I. At the time, soldiers and sailors with Spanish surnames or Spanish accents were sometimes the objects of ridicule and relegated to menial jobs. However, Hispanics continued to join the military and serve their nation.
  Captain Robert F. Lopez retired from the navy in 1911. During World War I, he was recalled to active duty and given the rank of commodore (equivalent to a one-star admiral rank, typically used during wartime) to command the Mare Island Naval Shipyard.
  Luis de Florez graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1911 before joining the navy. During World War I he became a naval aviator. Commander de Flores is credited with numerous inventions which made better flight simulators and equipment for flight safety.
  Lieutenant Frederick Lois Riefkohl (1889–1969), a native of Maunabo, Puerto Rico, became the first Puerto Rican to graduate from the USNA, and served as commander of the armed guard of USS Philadelphia. On August 2, 1917, after engaging an enemy submarine, he was awarded the Navy Cross, the second highest medal that can be awarded by the U.S. Navy.
  George E. Fernandez, a water tender (a first-class petty officer in charge in a fireroom) aboard the destroyer USS Shaw, was awarded the Navy Cross on October 9, 1918, after his actions aboard USS Shaw on October 9, 1918, when Shaw collided with RMS Aquitania and was cut in two and set on fire. Fernandez threw the ammunition that was piled on the deck of Shaw overboard, saving the lives of many of his fellow crewmen.
caption: RADM Frederick Lois Riefkohl
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