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 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 . 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 . On May 29 , 1945 , del Valle participated in one of the most important events which led to victory in Okinawa . After five weeks of fighting , del Valle ordered Company A of the 1st Battalion 5th Marines to capture Shuri Castle , a medieval fortress of the ancient Ryūkyūan kings . Seizure of Shuri Castle represented a moral blow for the Japanese and was an undeniable milestone in the Okinawa campaign . The fighting in Okinawa would continue for 24 more days . Del Valle was awarded a Distinguished Service Medal for his leadership during the battle and the subsequent occupation and reorganization of Okinawa . Award citation . He was awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal for outstanding leadership as Commanding General of the First Marine Division , during the attack and occupation of Okinawa from April 1 , to July 21 , 1945 . His citation reads in part : 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 1942 . 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 Russia n 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 Poneroy , Brigadier General Bonner Fellers , and Major General Claire Chennault ( USAF ) to formed 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 " 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 Columbarium . After del Valle ’ s death at age 85 , the DAC ceased to exist . Awards and recognitions . Among Lieutenant General Pedro del Valle ' s decorations and medals were the following :