Raúl G . Villaronga Colonel Raúl G . Villaronga ( born April 1 , 1938 ) is a retired United States Army officer who has the distinction of being the first Puerto Rican mayor of a Texas city . He was elected Mayor of Killeen , Texas in 1992 . Early years . Villaronga , born in Ponce , Puerto Rico , was the second of three children born to Raul Gil Villaronga Pasarell , an accountant with the Puerto Rico Iron Works who once served in the United States Army , and Maria Monserrate Martinez Perez , a school teacher and a housewife . At a young age , his family moved to St Croix , Virgin Islands where his father worked as an accountant for a distillery . In Christiansted , he began his elementary school education . After a few years his family returned to Puerto Rico , and he was enrolled in the public school system of Ponce . During his early teen years he attended the Catholic Seminary ( Casa Manresa ) in the town of Aibonito , Puerto Rico for two years and studied ancient Greek and Latin . Villaronga returned to school at the Colegio Ponceño de Varones in Ponce , and on his senior year , transferred to Ponce High School ( the " original " Ponce High School ) , from which he graduated in 1954 . During his high school years , he joined the Civil Air Patrol and was a member of the National Champion Ponce Drill Team . This experience served as an influential factor in his decision as to which college / university he would attend . He enrolled in Texas A & M University because of its military environment , and immediately enrolled in the institution ' s Air Force ROTC ( Reserve Officers ' Training Corps ) program . In 1954 , Villaronga met his future wife , Julia Bush . After his freshman year he returned to Puerto Rico for one year after which he returned once more to Texas A & M University and this time joined the Army ROTC Program . Villaronga married Julia in 1958 during his senior year . In 1959 , he earned his Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and was commissioned as an Infantry Second Lieutenant of the U . S . Army . Military career . While attending Texas A & M , Villaronga worked for Brown & Root Caribe in Puerto Rico and for Brown & Root , Inc . in Texas during the period of time between his graduation from college and the time that he to report for his active military duty . He was ordered to report to Fort Benning , U . S . state of Georgia on April 3 , 1960 for his basic training . Upon the completion of his basic training , he attended the Infantry Officer ' s Basic Course and Basic Airborne Course . In December 1960 , he was assigned as Platoon Leader in the 1st Battle Group , 87th Infantry and then 2nd BG , 23rd Infantry at Fort Benning . On October 3 , 1961 , Villaronga was promoted to First Lieutenant and underwent intense combat training during the Berlin Crisis . In 1962 , he took the Special Forces Officer ' s Course and served from March 1962 to November 1962 as Special Forces Officer at the 7th Special Forces Group ( Airborne ) , Fort Bragg , North Carolina . He underwent extensive mountain training in West Virginia and jungle operations training at Eglin Air Force Base ( Air Commandos ) . From 1963 to 1965 , Villaronga was assigned to the 8th Special Forces Group ( Airborne ) at Fort Gulick in the Panama Canal Zone where he served in several classified Counterinsurgency Missions which included an assignment in 1965 of Commander of Detachment XX , 8th Special Forces Group , in Central and South America in which he conducted training for American and Latin American soldiers in Basic , Jumpmaster , Rigger , and Pathfinder Courses . During his stay in the Canal Zone , Villaronga continued his military preparation by studying Portuguese at the Defense Language Institute and Jungle Warfare Operations . Villaronga was promoted to Captain on October 26 , 1964 . Vietnam War . In 1966 , Villaronga completed the Infantry Officers Career Course and then was sent to the Republic of Vietnam where he served two tours during the Vietnam War . From July to September 1966 , he served as the Adjutant of the 1st Battalion , 8th Cavalry Regiment ( Airborne ) . From October 1966 through July 1967 , he served as Company Commander , Co B , 1st Battalion , 8th Cavalry Regiment ( Airborne ) . When he return to the United States , Villaronga served as Special Warfare Instructor , U . S . Army Quartermaster School and as Supply Systems Instructor , US Army Quartermaster School from September 1967 to December 1969 at Fort Lee , in Virginia . During this period of time he was promoted to major ( October 26 , 1967 ) and completed the Supply Management Course and ADP Systems Analysis Course . During the 1970s , he completed the Logistics Executive Development Course and served in various positions in the military . He returned to the Republic of Vietnam and served as Logistics Staff Officer , 29th General Support Group and as the Battalion Executive Officer , 266 Supply and Service Battalion . Post Vietnam War . In June 1973 , he was reassigned to Mechanicsburg , Pennsylvania where until November 1976 he served in the following positions : Chief , Plans & Programs , and Manpower , Defense Depot ; Chief , Management Support Office , Defense Depot and Chief , Transportation Division , Defense Deport . During this period ( 1973 ) Villaronga earned his Masters degree in Industrial Engineering from Texas Tech University and also completed the following courses : Defense Language Institute ( German ) and the Brigade , Battalion Commanders Course . On January 1 , 1976 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel . From November 1976 to October 1979 , he served in Europe as Commander , 66th Maintenance Battalion in Kaiserslautern , Germany and later as Plans & Operation Officer , 7th Support Command . In November 1979 , Villaronga was assigned to New Cumberland , Pennsylvania where he served as Logistics Staff Officer , U . S . Army Logistics Evaluation Agency . In 1980 , he attended the Command & General Staff College and on November 1 , 1981 he was promoted to Colonel . On June 1983 , Villaronga was sent to Fort Hood , Texas where he served as Deputy Commander , 13th Support Command and later as Director of Instrumentation , US Army TCATA until August 1985 . On August 1 , 1985 , Colonel Villaronga retired from the United States Army . Civilian life . After Villaronga retired from the military , he decided to make Killeen his home and went to work as a part - time Professor at Central Texas College where he taught Logistics , Math and Computer Science . Unable to get a full - time position as a professor because he lacked a Masters in Education , he decided to work as a consultant for the Department of Defense and later for Brown & Root Services Corporation in Houston . Villaronga applied and was hired by the Texas Attorney General ' s Office in Austin , and served with the Child Support Enforcement Division . He designed and implemented a Case Tracking System that provided visibility as to what was happening to cases in each of the organizations involved with CSED . Political career . Villaronga became interested in an ongoing situation between the citizens of Killeen and the members of the Killeen City Council which involved the building of a Convention Center and as a result ran for City Council member in 1989 . He served a 2 - year term as City Council member until 1991 . In 1992 , Villaronga successfully ran for Mayor of Killeen . " Villaronga , the first Puerto Rican to be elected Mayor of a Texas city was sworn in office June 20 , 1992 . He eventually resigned from the OAG after serving his first term as Mayor . As mayor , he served as the head of the City of Killeen government for all ceremonial purposes , and for the purposes of military law . Along with the council members , he was responsible for soliciting citizen views in forming these policies and interpreting them to the public . Villaronga successfully served for 3 consecutive terms and in 1998 stepped down as Mayor in accordance to the term limits established by the City Charter . During the years in which Villaronga served as Mayor , he was involved and responsible for the implementation of the following : Later years . Among the civic organizations which Villaronga is involved in are the Disabled American Veterans , Veterans of Foreign Wars , and the American Legion . He is also a member of the League of United Latin American Citizens ( LULAC ) and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP ) . Villaronga and his wife are on the Board of Directors of Killeen Crime Stoppers , Inc . , and they are both members of the Greater Killeen Chamber of Commerce . They both serve as Chamber Ambassadors , which are the " visible " face of the Chamber in promoting business and growth . Among the many awards bestowed upon Villaronga was The 2003 Exchange Club of Killeen Golden Deeds Award . On December 3 , 2007 , Villaronga , chairman of LULAC ' s Killeen Foundation , helped organize an event which honored both , the " Borinqueneers " ( the 65th Infantry Regiment of the United States Army ) composed almost entirely of Puerto Ricans that fought in the Korean War and Kenneth McClintock , the President of the Puerto Rican Senate . Villaronga and his wife are retired and continue to reside in Killeen . They have three grown sons , William Raúl , Walter Rafael , and Robert Gabriel , and two grandsons , Christopher Raul , who graduated from West Chester University , Pennsylvania , in 2006 , and Rafael Lee , who served with the United States Marine Corps in Iraq . Awards and decorations . Among Colonel Raúl G . Villaronga ' s military decorations are the following : Badges : Tab