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Pedro del Valle

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Military People

                  Pedro del Valle
   August 28, 1893 - April 28, 1978
   Lieutenant General Pedro del Valle
    Place of birth  San Juan, Puerto Rico
    Place of death  Annapolis, Maryland
      Allegiance    USMC
   Years of service 1915-1948
         Rank       Lieutenant General
       Commands     11th Marine Regiment
                    III Amphibious Corps Artillery
                    1st Marine Division
     Battles/wars   The Banana Wars
                    Battle of Guadalcanal
                    Battle of Guam
                    Battle of Okinawa
        Awards      Distinguished Service Medal
                    Legion of Merit

   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 so-called Banana
   Wars of the 1920s, and in the seizure of Guadalcanal and later as
   Commanding General of the U.S. 1st Marine Division during World War ll.

   He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for outstanding
   leadership as Commanding General of the First Marine Division, during
   the attack and occupation of Okinawa from 1 April to 21 July 1945. His
   citation reads in part, "Undaunted by the deadly accuracy of enemy
   gunfire, he repeatedly visited the fighting fronts, maintaining close
   tactical control of operations and rallying his weary but stouthearted
   Marines to heroic efforts during critical phases of this long and
   arduous campaign. By his superb generalship....Major General del Valle
   contributed essentially to the conquest of this fiercely defended
   outpost of the Japanese Empire.

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. Upon graduating high school del Valle was
   accepted in 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.

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
   USS Texas (BB-35) 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 USS Wyoming(BB-32). 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
   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
   cordinated 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 in Rome, Italy. 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

   Major General Pedro del Valle (second from left) is greeted by Colonel
   Puller (Chesty) on Pavuvu in late October 1944, while Major General
   Rupertus (far left) looks on
   Enlarge
   Major General Pedro del Valle (second from left) is greeted by Colonel
   Puller (Chesty) on Pavuvu in late October 1944, while Major General
   Rupertus (far left) looks on

   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 seizure and defense of
   Guadalcanal providing artillery support for the 1st Marine Division. In
   the Battle of Tenaru, the fire power 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 Ichiki Kiyonao, committed seppuku shortly afterwards. 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 11th Marines 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 a Gold 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 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 Ryukyuan 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.

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 Senator
   Dennis Chavez of New Mexico and del Valle held a meeting with President
   Harry S. Truman in the White House, in which Senator 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. The first civilian and native Puerto
   Rican appointed governor of Puerto Rico was Jesus T. 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 U.S. Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA)
   and U.S. Department of Defense to form a vigilante minuteman group. He
   also believed that the CIA should operate behind Russian and Chinese
   lines. After his ideas were turned down, he decided to form his own
   group. In 1953, del Valle met with Lt. Col. John H. Hoffman (USMC), Lt.
   Col. Eugene Cowles Poneroy, Brigadier General Bonner Fellers, and Major
   General Claire Chennault (USAF) and 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, however
   he was defeated and failed 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, who was married to Katharine Nelson
   (1890-1983), died on April 28, 1978 in Annapolis, Maryland. He was
   buried in the United States Naval Academy Cemetery of Columbarium.
   After del Valle’s death at age 85, the DAC ceased to exist.

Works of Pedro del Valle

Books

   Del Valle, Pedro Augusto. Diary and reports of the U.S. naval observer
   of Italian oparations in East Africa: March 1937. (Washington:
   Government Printing Office, 1937).
   Del Valle, Pedro Augusto. Roman Eagles Over Ethiopia (Harrisburg, PA:
   Military service Pub. Co., 1940].
   Del Valle, Pedro Augusto. Semper fidelis: An autobiography (Hawthorne,
   CA: Christian Book Club of America, 1976).
   Lieutenant General Pedro A. del Valle, U.S. Marine Corps (retired)
   (Oral history program).

Articles

   "Guam, the Classical Amphibious Operation" Military Review (1944).
   "Massed Fires on Guam" Marine Corps Gazette(1944).

Awards and Recognitions

   Among Lieutenant General Pedro del Valle's decorations and medals were
   the following:
     *    Navy Distinguished Service Medal,
     *    Legion of Merit with a Gold Star,
     *    Navy and Marine Corps Medal, Ethiopia 1936–36,
     *    Presidential Unit Citation, Guadalcanal 1942, Okinawa 1945,
     *    Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal with Bronze Star, Haiti 1916,
     *    Dominican Campaign Medal, Dominican Republic 1916,
     *    World War I Victory Medal 1918,
     *    Second Nicaraguan Campaign Medal, Nicaragua 1930,
     *    American Defense Service Medal,
     *    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with five Bronze Stars,
     *    American Campaign Medal,
     *    World War II Victory Medal,

Foreign decorations

     * Order of the Crown of Italy, Italy 1936,
     * East African Medal, Italy
     * Colonial Order of the Star of Italy,
     * Italian Bronze Medal for Military Valor,
     * Cuban Naval Order of Merit second class, Cuba 1938,
     * Ecuadorian Decoration of Abdon Calderon Star first class with
       Diploma, Ecuador 1942.

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