Horacio Rivero, Jr.

• Born: May 16, 1910
• Birthplace: Ponce, Puerto Rico
• Died: September 24, 2000
• Place of death: Coronado, California

Puerto Rican-born military leader and ambassador to Spain

After graduating third in his class from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1931, Rivero had a distinguished career in the Navy until his retirement in 1972. The second Latino to become a four-star admiral, Rivero played an important role in the 1962 blockade of Cuba, and he oversaw the daily operations of the Navy during the Vietnam War.

Areas of achievement: Military; government and politics; diplomacy

Early Life

Horacio Rivero, Jr. (oh-RAHS-see-oh rih-VEHR-oh) was born on May 16, 1910, to Horacio Rivero and Margarita DeLucca Rivero, who also had two daughters, Sara and Lydia. The family lived in Ponce, located along the southern coast of Puerto Rico. Rivero attended public school in Ponce before graduating from Central High School in San Juan. Growing up along the coast, Rivero always wanted to join the Navy. He was the second alternate in line for the appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy given by Puerto Rico’s commissioner Felix Cordova Davila. After the principal and first alternate appointees failed the academy’s entrance exam, Rivero was given the spot on June 20, 1927, when he was seventeen years old.

The Navy waived its height requirement to accept Rivero, who was just over five feet tall. While attending the naval academy, an officer had difficulty reading Rivero’s name patch on his uniform, asking, “What’s your name? Rivets?” The nickname Rivets stuck with Rivero throughout his career with the Navy. On June 4, 1931, Rivero graduated from the academy, third in his class of 441 students.

He first served as a junior gunnery officer aboard the USS Northampton before becoming the communications watch officer on the USS Chicago, USS New Mexico, and USS California. He was promoted to first lieutenant and served as assistant fleet communications officer until June, 1936. For the next two years, Rivero worked as an assistant gunnery officer on the USS Porter. In 1938, he studied ordnance engineering at the Naval Postgraduate School in Annapolis, Maryland, and he earned a M.S. in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1940. Rivero married Hazel Hooper in 1941.

Life’s Work

Shortly after the United States entered World War II, Rivero was assigned to the newly commissioned USS San Juan as the assistant gunnery officer. During the next few months aboard, Rivero participated in the landings at Guadalcanal and Tulagi, a raid of the Gilbert Islands, and the battle of the Santa Cruz Islands. For his service in the Pacific Theater, Rivero received the Bronze Star with Combat “V.” He served as the San Juan’s gunnery officer until the middle of 1944. He then became the gunnery officer and later the executive officer on the USS Pittsburgh. In June, 1945, the Pittsburgh was struck by a typhoon, severing its bow. Rivero’s swift action, leadership, and damage control allowed the ship to safely make it to port without any casualties. He was awarded the Legion of Merit for his role in saving the ship.

In August, 1945, Rivero returned to the United States, working for the Special Weapons Division of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. By 1946, he had been promoted to captain, and he received the Navy Commendation Medal for “outstanding performance” while a technical assistant to the deputy commander of Operation Crossroads. Rivero’s science and technical knowledge was key to his appointment to the staff of the joint task force commander during nuclear weapons testing on Eniwetok and the Bikini Islands in 1948. He commanded the USS William C. Lawe until the spring of 1949, when he was assigned to the Weapons Systems Evaluation Group, Office of the Secretary of Defense, a position he held until August, 1951. Rivero then received command of the USS Noble, transporting troops and equipment to and from the Korean war zone.

After almost a year aboard the Noble, Rivero attended the National War College, completing a course in nuclear weapons in June, 1953. In October, 1955, he was promoted to rear admiral, and he became deputy chief of the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project in Washington, D.C. Rivero continued to move up the ranks over the next few years, both commanding ships and holding positions in Washington. By 1961, he was the deputy chief of staff and deputy chief of staff for plans and operations to the commander in chief of the Atlantic Fleet. He also held other staff positions under other commanders in chief at this time.

In October, 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Rivero was in command of the Atlantic Fleet’s amphibious force. He was awarded a Gold Star, in place of the Second Legion of Merit, for his exemplary conduct during the crisis and blockade of Cuba. In October of the following year, Rivero served as director of Navy program planning in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. On July 31, 1964, he was promoted from vice admiral, making him the second Latino four-star admiral in American history.

Admiral Rivero served as vice chief of naval operations, the second-highest position in the U.S. Navy, until 1968. In this position, he oversaw the day-to-day planning of the Navy during the Vietnam War, and he was a strong supporter of developing the “brown-water navy,” or riverine force, that patrolled the shallow rivers and deltas of Vietnam. In early 1968, Rivero became the commander in chief of the Allied forces in Southern Europe; he held this position until his retirement from the Navy in 1972. While serving in Europe, Rivero had visited Spain’s dictator Francisco Franco, which Rivero believed lead to his being appointed ambassador to Spain by President Richard Nixon. Rivero was ambassador for two years.

During his retirement, Rivero served as an adviser to the chief of naval operations, the U.S. Naval Academy, and the National War College. He also occasionally reviewed books on naval history for the San Diego Union-Tribune. Rivero died in his home in Coronado California, on September 24, 2000, at the age of ninety. He was survived by his sisters, daughter, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Significance

Rivero was the second Latino four-star admiral in U.S. Navy history. He had a distinguished forty-one year career, earning a number of medals, including the Bronze Star with Combat “V,” Distinguished Service Medal with two Gold Stars, Legion of Merit with Gold Star, Navy Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Star, and the American Defense Service Medal. Rivero also received awards from several foreign countries. By his retirement in 1972, he was vice chief of naval operations, the Navy’s second-highest ranking position. He was then appointed ambassador to Spain by President Nixon. In retirement, Rivero held positions on several advisory boards, and he was honorary chairman of the American Veterans’ Committee for Puerto Rico Self-Determination.

Bibliography

Mason, John T. The Atlantic War Remembered. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 1991. A collection of oral histories, including Rivero’s, dealing with the Atlantic and Mediterranean theaters of World War II. Provides personal, first-hand accounts of both famous and unknown events that lead to victory in Europe.

United States Naval Institute. Reminiscences of Admiral Horacio Rivero, Jr., U.S. Navy (Retired). Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 1978. An oral history interview with Rivero, in which he discusses his childhood in Puerto Rico, his time at the U.S. Naval Academy, his extensive career with the Navy, his retirement, and his years spent as ambassador to Spain.

Utz, Curtis. Cordon of Steel. Washington, D.C.: Naval Historical Center, 1994. Reprint. Honolulu: University Press of the Pacific, 2005. A detailed history of the U.S. Navy’s involvement with the blockade and Cuban missile crisis. Shows how efficient and effective the Navy was while under the growing threat of war. Includes several pictures of armed ships and aircraft. Available for free download from the Naval Historical Center.