Seven Puerto Ricans, all graduates of the United States Naval Academy, served in command positions in the Navy and the Marine Corps. Lieutenant General Pedro Augusto del Valle, was the first Hispanic Marine Corps general. He played a key role in the Guadalcanal Campaign and the Battle of Guam and became the Commanding General of the First Marine Division. Del Valle played an instrumental role in the defeat of the Japanese forces in Okinawa and was in charge of the reorganization of Okinawa. Admiral Horacio Rivero, Jr., USN, who later became the first Puerto Rican to become a four-star admiral; Captain Marion Frederic Ramírez de Arellano, USN, the first Hispanic submarine commanding officer. As submarine commander of the , he is credited with sinking two Japanese ships; Rear Admiral Rafael Celestino Benítez, USN, a highly decorated submarine commander who was the recipient of two Silver Star Medals; Rear Admiral José M. Cabanillas, USN, who was the executive officer of the which participated in the invasions of North Africa and Normandy (D-Day); Rear Admiral Edmund Ernest García, USN, commander of the destroyer who saw action in the invasions of Africa, Sicily, and France; Rear Admiral Frederick Lois Riefkohl, USN, the first Puerto Rican to graduate from the Naval Academy and recipient of the Navy Cross and Colonel Jaime Sabater, Sr., USMC, who commanded the 1st Battalion, 9th Marines during the Bougainville amphibious operations. Sabater also participated in the Battle of Guam (July 21 – August 10, 1944) as executive officer of the 9th Marines. He was wounded in action on July 21, 1944 and awarded the Purple Heart.