When the United States officially entered the war on December 7, 1941, Hispanic Americans were among the many American citizens who joined the ranks of the
United States Armed Forces as volunteers or through the
draft. Some Hispanics, such as Mihiel "Mike" Gilormini and Alberto A. Nido, served and fought for two different countries as members of the
Royal Canadian Air Force and the British
Royal Air Force before joining the United States Army Air Forces. Those who were qualified pilots or had received private flying lesson were assigned to the newly formed United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) and served as active combatants in both the European and Pacific Theaters of war. In 1944, Puerto Rican aviators were sent to the Tuskegee Army Air Field in
Tuskegee, Alabama to train the famed 99th Fighter Squadron of the
Tuskegee Airmen. The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African-American military aviators in the United States armed forces. Puerto Ricans were also involved in clerical positions with the Tuskegee unit. Among the Puerto Ricans who helped make the Tuskegee experiment a successful one were T/Sgt. Pablo Diaz Albortt, an NCO (Non Commissioned Officer) in charge of the Special Service Office, and Eugene Calderon, who was assigned to the "Red Tail" unit, as the Company Clerk. By the end of the war, the Tuskegee Airmen were credited with 109 Luftwaffe aircraft shot down, a patrol boat run aground by machine-gun fire, and destruction of numerous fuel dumps, trucks and trains.
The inherent flexibility of air power Among the Hispanics who played an instrumental role as a commander during the conflict was Brigadier General
Elwood R. "Pete" Quesada, (1904–1993). Quesada, (who eventually would become a lieutenant general), was assigned as a
brigadier general in October 1940 to
intelligence in the Office of the Chief of Air Corps. He became commanding general of the 9th Fighter Command where he established advanced headquarters on the
Normandy beachhead on
D-Day plus one, and directed his planes in aerial cover and air support for the Allied invasion of the European continent. He was the foremost proponent of "the inherent flexibility of air power", a principle he helped prove during World War II. In December 1942, Quesada took the First Air Defense Wing to North Africa. Shortly thereafter, he was given command of the XII Fighter Command and in this capacity would work out the mechanics of
close air support and Army-Air Force cooperation. Since World War I, a number of pilots have been honored as "Ace in a Day". First Lieutenant
Oscar F. Perdomo, (1919–1976), the son of Mexican parents, was born in
El Paso, Texas. When the war broke out, Perdomo joined the
United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) as an aviation cadet and was trained to pilot the
P-47 Thunderbolt. After receiving his pilot training, he was assigned to the 464th Fighter Squadron, which was part of the 507th Fighter Group that was sent to the Pacific Island of
Ie Shima off the west coast of
Okinawa. The
atomic bomb was dropped on
Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, 1945, but while the Allies awaited Japan's response to the demand to surrender, the war continued. On August 13, 1945, 1st Lt. Perdomo shot down four
Nakajima Ki-84 "Frank" fighters and one
Yokosuka K5Y "Willow" Type 93 biplane trainer. This action took place near
Keijo/Seoul, Korea when 38 Thunderbolts of the 507th Fighter Group encountered approximately 50 enemy aircraft. This action was Lt. Perdomo's tenth and final combat mission, and the five confirmed victories made him an "Ace in a Day" and earned him the distinction of being the last "Ace" of World War II. He was awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism in action and the
Air Medal with one
oak leaf cluster. Captain Michael Brezas, USAAF fighter ace, arrived in
Lucera, Italy during the summer of 1944, joining the 48th Fighter Squadron of the 14th Fighter Group. Flying the
P-38 aircraft, Lt. Brezas downed 12 enemy planes within two months. He received the Silver Star Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Air Medal with eleven oak leaf clusters. Captain
Mihiel "Mike" Gilormini,
Royal Air Force and USAAF, was a flight commander whose last combat mission was attacking the airfield at
Milano, Italy. His last flight in Italy gave air cover for General
George C. Marshall's visit to
Pisa. Gilormini was the recipient of the Silver Star Medal, five Distinguished Flying Crosses, and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters. Captain
Alberto A. Nido,
Royal Canadian Air Force, the British Royal Air Force and the USAAF. He flew missions as a bomber pilot for the RCAF and as a
Supermarine Spitfire fighter pilot for the RAF. As member of the RAF, he belonged to 67th Reconnaissance Squadron who participated in 275 combat missions. Nido later transferred to the USAAF's 67th Fighter Group as a
P-51 Mustang fighter pilot. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with four
oak leaf clusters and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters. Captain
Robert L. Cardenas, USAAF, served as a
B-24 aircraft pilot in the European Theater of Operations with the 506th Bombardment Squadron. He was awarded the Air Medal and two oak leaf clusters for bombing missions before being shot down over Germany in March 1944. Despite head wounds from
flak, he made his way back to Allied control. 2nd Lieutenant
César Luis González, a co-pilot of a
C-47, was the first Puerto Rican pilot in the United States Army Air Forces. He was one of the initial participants of the invasion of
Sicily on July 10, 1943, also known as
Operation Husky. During the invasion of Sicily, he flew on two night missions, the first on July 9, where his mission was to release paratroops of
82nd Airborne Division on the area of
Gela and the second on July 11, when he dropped reinforcements in the area. His unit was awarded a "DUC" for carrying out this second mission in spite of bad weather and heavy attack by enemy ground and naval forces. González died on November 22, 1943, when his plane crashed during training off the end of the runway at
Castelvetrano. He was posthumously promoted to first lieutenant Lieutenant
Richard Gomez Candelaria, USAAF, was a P-51 Mustang pilot from the 435th Fighter Squadron of the 479th Fighter Group. With six aerial victories to his credit, Candelaria was the only pilot in his squadron to make "ace". Most of his victories were achieved on a single mission on April 7, 1945, when he found himself the lone escort protecting a formation of USAAF B-24 Liberators. Candelaria defended the bombers from at least 15 German fighters, single-handedly destroying four before help arrived. He was also credited with a probable victory on an
Me 262 during this engagement. Six days later, Candelaria was shot down by ground fire, and spent the rest of the war as a POW. After the war, Candelaria served in the Air National Guard, reaching the rank of Colonel prior to his retirement. Lieutenant Francisco Mercado Jr., USAAF, flew 35 combat missions as a bombardier over enemy occupied Continental Europe as a member of the 853rd Bomb Squadron, 491st Bomb Group, 8th Air Force. He was awarded the Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Cluster and the Distinguished Flying Cross. He flew ten missions as the Squadron Lead Bombardier, and one as the Group Lead Bombardier on December 30, 1944, on a mission to the Railroad Bridge at
Altenahr, Germany. On July 21, 1944, he earned a membership into the exclusive "
Caterpillar Club" after he parachuted over England while returning from a mission with a crippled B-24. Lieutenant
José Antonio Muñiz served with distinction in the
China-Burma-India Theater. During his tour of duty he flew 20 combat missions against the
Imperial Japanese Army Air Force and shot down a
Mitsubishi A6M Zero. Major
Vicente T. Ximenes graduated from Bombardier School at
Kirtland Air Force Base as a second lieutenant in 1941. During the war, Ximenes flew 50 missions as a lead bombardier in North Africa and was later awarded the
Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery under fire. After serving in the war, he became an Air Force flying instructor at the
Goodfellow Air Force Base from 1943 to 1946. Technical Sergeant Clement Resto, USAAF, was not an "ace" but served with the 303rd Bomb Group and participated in numerous bombing raids over Germany. During a bombing mission over Duren, Germany, Resto's plane, a B-17, was shot down. He was captured by the
Gestapo and sent to
Stalag XVII-B where he spent the rest of the war as a prisoner of war. Resto, who lost an eye during his last mission, was awarded a Purple Heart, a
POW Medal and an Air Medal with one
battle star after he was liberated from captivity. Corporal Frank Medina, USAAF, was an air crew member on a B-24 that was shot down over Italy. He was the only crew member to evade capture. Medina explained that his ability to speak Spanish had allowed him to communicate with friendly Italians who helped him avoid capture for eight months behind enemy lines. When Staff Sergeant Ernest Gallego, USAAF tried to enlist, he was too young and when he was finally of age, he failed the depth perception test and therefore chose gunnery school. Gallego and his crew flew on many missions from their base in Italy. One of the first Hispanic women to serve in the USAAF was Staff Sergeant Eva Romero Jacques. Jacques had three years of college and she spoke both Spanish and English. She spent two years in the Pacific Theater. She spent 1944, in New Guinea and 1945 in the Philippines, as an administrative aide. She survived a plane disaster when the craft in which she was on crashed in the jungles of
New Guinea. ==United States Air Force==