Naval History and Heritage Command

As of June 2018, approximately 59,000 active and Reserve Sailors of Hispanic heritage serve in the U.S. Navy contributing to the strength of the nation’s force. Hispanic Americans’ military service dates back to the Civil War.

The tradition of observing Hispanic heritage began in 1968, when President Lyndon B. Johnson designated a week in mid-September as National Hispanic Heritage Week. Twenty years later in 1988, President Ronald Reagan extended that week to a month-long observance. 

The heritage month’s dates refer to Independence Day anniversaries of Latin American countries – September 15 is the anniversary of independence for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Mexico declared its independence September 16, and Chile September 18.

The Navy is strengthened by the diversity of its force as it underlines that patriots of Hispanic American Heritage continue to build legacies of freedom and diversity as they fight for the security of the country and the peace of the world. 

Digital Resources

• Banners
• Blog: Navy Legend—David Glasgow Farragut
• Blog: Remembering Hispanic-Americans in the U.S. Navy
• Infographic: Puerto Rico's Naval History

Ships Named in Honor of Hispanic Americans

• 1st Lt. Baldomero Lopez (T-AK-310)
• Benavidez (T-AKR-306)
• Cesar Chavez (T-AKE-14)
• Farragut (DDG-99)
• Garcia (DE-1014)
• Gonzalez (DDG-66)
• Rafael Peralta (DDG-115)

Selected Biographies

• Rear Admiral Christina Alvarado
  
• Rear Admiral Jose Cabanillas
• Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Joe R. Campa Jr.
• Admiral David Glasgow Farragut
• Rear Admiral Edmund E. Garcia
• Honorable Edward Hidalgo
• Captain Marion Ramirez de Arrelano
• Rear Admiral Frederick L. Riefkohl
• Admiral Horacio Rivero Jr.
• Rear Admiral Henry Gabriel Sanchez
• Commander Eugene Anthony Valencia

Related Reading

• A Historic Perspective of Hispanic Sailors in the United States Navy: Admiral David Farragut and Bandmaster Jose Contreras

Additional Resources

• Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute
• Library of Congress Veterans History Project

The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer Farragut (DDG-99) sails in the Atlantic Ocean, 26 June 2016 (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Nathan Wilkes, 160626-N-TO519-165).