page_title: Horacio Rivero Jr.
section_title: World War II
hierarchical_section_title: Horacio Rivero Jr. / Military career / World War II
caption_attribution_description: English: The U.S. Navy light cruiser USS San Juan (CL-54) off Norfolk, Virginia (USA), 3 June 1942.
context_page_description: Admiral Horacio Rivero Jr., was the first Puerto Rican and Hispanic four-star admiral, and the second Hispanic to hold that rank in the modern United States Navy, after the American Civil War Admiral David Glasgow Farragut. After retiring from the Navy, Rivero served as the U.S. Ambassador to Spain, and was also the first Hispanic to hold that position.
context_section_description: During World War II, he served aboard the USS San Juan (CL-54) as a gunnery officer and was involved in providing artillery cover for Marines landing on Guadalcanal, Marshall Islands, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. For his service he was awarded the Bronze Star with Combat "V". Rivero was reassigned to the USS Pittsburgh (CA-72). The Pittsburgh's  bow had been torn off during a typhoon and Rivero's strategies saved his ship without a single life lost. For his actions, he was awarded the Legion of Merit. He also participated in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, the attack on Bougainville in the Solomons, the capture of the Gilbert Islands and a series of carrier raids on Rabaul. On June 5, 1945, Rivero participated in the first carrier raids against Tokyo during operations in the vicinity of Nansei Shoto.
  Rivero served as Assistant to the Assistant Chief of Naval Operations (Special Weapons) from August 1945 to February 1946. From February 1946 to June 1947, he served as a technical assistant on the Staff of Commander Joint Task Force One for Operation Crossroads, and was on the Staff of Commander, Joint Task Force Seven during the atomic weapons tests in Eniwetok in 1948.
caption: USS San Juan
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