Editing Pedro del Valle (section)

==Military career==
Following the graduation, del Valle participated in the expeditionary duty in [[Santo Domingo]], Dominican Republic, in 1916. 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 [[Germany|German]] [[High Seas Fleet]].<ref name=USMCbio/>  Later he served as "[[aide-de-camp]]" to [[Major general (United States)|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 [[Caribbean|West Indies]] in the company of General Pendleton.<ref name=USMCbio/>

===Banana Wars===
[[File:P. Del Valle.jpg|left|thumb|upright=0.7|Pedro del Valle as a midshipman]]

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 César Sandino]] in [[Nicaragua]]. In 1929, he returned to the United States and attended the Field Officers Course at the Marine Corps School in [[Marine Corps Base Quantico|MCB Quantico]], [[Virginia]].<ref name=USMCbio/>

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 warfare|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 coordinated amphibious assault and of an execution of an opposed landing.<ref name = npsSrUSMCcommanders/>

He worked as an intelligence officer in [[Havana]] in 1933 under Admiral Charles Freeman, following the Cuban Sergeant's Revolt. From 1935 to 1937, del Valle was assistant naval attache, attached to the [[Diplomatic missions of the United States|American Embassy]] to Italy in [[Rome]].<ref name=USMCbio/> While on duty, del Valle participated as an observer with the [[Italian Army|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 [[Emilio De Bono|De Bono]], [[Pietro Badoglio|Badoglio]], and [[Rodolfo Graziani|Graziani]].<ref name = "bookstore"/>

During the course of his service, De Valle revealed himself to be a fervent admirer of [[Benito Mussolini]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bendersky |first=Joseph W. |title=The Jewish Threat: Anti-Semitic Politics Of The U.S. Army |date=2000 |publisher=Basic Books |isbn=978-0-465-00617-5 |location=New York |pages=411–412 |oclc=44089138}}</ref> He became a close friend of antisemitic propagandist [[James True]] and distributed "subversive" literature from [[George E. Deatherage|George Deatherage]]’s [[Knights of the White Camelia|Knights of the White Camellia]] and [[William Dudley Pelley|William Dudley Pelly]]'s [[Silver Legion of America|Silver Shirts]].<ref name=":0" /> In 1939, he was ordered to attend the [[United States Army War College|Army War College]] in Washington, D.C., and after graduating was named executive officer of the Division of Plans and Policies, USMC.<ref name="USMCbio" /><ref name="bookstore">{{cite web|access-date=2007-10-17|url=http://www.scuttlebuttsmallchow.com/ethiopia.html|title=Marine Corps History Bookstore|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927211120/http://www.scuttlebuttsmallchow.com/ethiopia.html|archive-date=2007-09-27}}</ref>

===World War II===
[[File:Pedro del Valle2.jpg|thumb|Major General [[Roy Geiger|Geiger]] (left), Colonel Silverthorn, and Brigadier General del Valle (right) examine a relief map of Guam on board the {{USS|Appalachian|AGC-1|6}}]]

In March 1941, del Valle became the [[commanding officer]] of the [[11th Marine Regiment (United States)|11th Marine Regiment]] ([[artillery]]). Upon the outbreak of [[World War II]], del Valle led his [[regiment]] and participated in the [[Guadalcanal Campaign]], providing artillery support for the 1st Marine Division. In the [[Battle of the Tenaru]], the firepower 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.<ref name = npsSrUSMCcommanders/> The outcome of the battle was so stunning that the Japanese commander, Colonel [[Kiyonao Ichiki]], committed [[seppuku]] shortly afterwards.<ref name="Frank">{{Cite book |last=B. Frank |first=Richard |author-link=Richard B. Frank |title=Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle |publisher=Random House |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-394-58875-9 |location=New York |pages=156–158, 681}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=S. Smith |first=Michael |title=Bloody Ridge: The Battle That Saved Guadalcanal |publisher=Random House |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-307-82461-5 |location=New York |pages=43}}</ref>

Major General [[Alexander Vandegrift]], impressed with del Valle's leadership recommended his promotion and on October 1, 1942, del Valle became a [[brigadier general (United States)|brigadier general]]. Vandegrift retained del Valle as head of the 11th Marines, the only time that the regiment has ever had a general as their commanding officer.<ref name="npsSrUSMCcommanders" /> In 1943, he served as Commander of Marine Forces overseeing [[Guadalcanal]], [[Tulagi]], and the [[Russell Islands|Russell]] and [[Nggela Islands|Florida Islands]]. He was decorated with the [[Legion of Merit]] for his merits during Guadalcanal campaign.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=M. Duncan |first1=Stephen |url=https://archive.org/details/hispanicsinameri00wash/mode/2up?view=theater |title=Hispanics in America's Defense |last2=Cheney |first2=Dick |publisher=Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Manpower and Personnel Policy |year=1990 |location=Washington D.C. |pages=111–112 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

On April 1, 1944, del Valle was the commanding general of the Third Corps Artillery, [[III Marine Expeditionary Force|III Marine Amphibious Corps]], which participated in the [[Battle of Guam (1944)|Battle of Guam]]. He was awarded a [[5/16 inch star|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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Emmet |first=Robert |url=https://www.usmcu.edu/Portals/218/A%20Brief%20History%20of%20the%2011th%20Marines%20%20PCN%2019000318600.pdf |title=A Brief History of the 11th Marines |publisher=United States Marine Corps |year=1968 |location=Washington D.C.}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=November 2024}}

In late October 1944, he succeeded Major General [[William H. Rupertus]] as commanding general of the 1st Marine Division, being personally greeted in his new command by Colonel [[Chesty Puller|Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller]]. At the time, the 1st Marine Division was training on the island of Pavuvu for the [[Battle of Okinawa|invasion of Okinawa]]. He subsequently led the division throughout the campaign. Del Valle was awarded a [[Navy Distinguished Service Medal|Distinguished Service Medal]] for his leadership during the battle and the subsequent occupation and reorganization of [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]].<ref name="npsSrUSMCcommanders">
{{cite book |author=H. Alexander |first=Joseph |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/49119/49119-h/49119-h.htm |title=The Final Campaign: Marines in the Victory on Okinawa |publisher=United States Marine Corps |year=1966 |location=Quantico |pages=6–7 |chapter=Senior Marine Commanders |via=Project Gutenberg}}</ref>

The "very surprising and unpatriotic utterances" del Valle had been making since 1941 led however to three separate investigations by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]], the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] and the War Office's Military Intelligence Department. Colonel Housewitz, an aide to Marine Corps General [[Clifton B. Cates]], stated that although del Valle had formerly been "a very important figure in military circles", he was now "more or less an embarrassment to the Marine Corps as a result of his loudly voiced antisemitic statements."<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Macklin|first=Graham|date=2012|title=Transatlantic Connections and Conspiracies: A.K. Chesterton and The New Unhappy Lords|journal=Journal of Contemporary History|language=en-US|volume=47|issue=2|pages=278–281|doi=10.1177/0022009411431723|s2cid=153984405|issn=0022-0094}}</ref>

===Postwar===
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, [[List of United States Senators from New Mexico|New Mexico Senator]] [[Dennis Chavez]] and del Valle held a meeting with [[President of the United States|President]] [[Harry S. Truman]] in the White House, in which Chavez recommended del Valle for the position of [[governor of Puerto Rico]].<ref name="HST">{{cite web |year=2001 |title=The President's Day: Tuesday, February 19 1946 |url=http://www.trumanlibrary.org/calendar/main.php?currYear=1946&currMonth=2&currDay=19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020225080621/https://www.trumanlibrary.org/calendar/main.php?currYear=1946&currMonth=2&currDay=19 |archive-date=2002-02-25 |access-date=2007-10-17 |work=Truman Presidential Museum & Library}}</ref> Local Puerto Rican politicians, such as [[Luis Muñoz Marín]], opposed the naming of del Valle in favor of [[Jesús T. Piñero]]; to which del Valle eventually asked President Truman to withdraw his name among those considered for the position.<ref name="PineroLOC">{{cite web |date=January 12, 1997 |title=Jesus T. Piñero |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CDOC-108hdoc225/pdf/GPO-CDOC-108hdoc225-2-6-1.pdf |access-date=2007-10-17 |work=Hispanic Americans in Congress, 1822-1995 |publisher=Library of Congress}}</ref>