Rafael Celestino Benitez

Infobox Military Person
name = Rafael Celestino Benitez
born = birth date|1917|3|9
died = death date and age|1999|3|6|1917|3|9
placeofbirth = Juncos, Puerto Rico
placeofdeath = Easton, Maryland


caption =Rear Admiral Rafael Celestino Benitez
nickname =
allegiance = United States of America
serviceyears = 1939–1959
rank =
branch =
commands = USS "Cochino" (SS-345)
unit =
battles = World War II
awards = Silver Star (2) Bronze Star
laterwork = Pan American Airways VP

Rear Admiral Rafael Celestino Benitez (March 9, 1917 – March 6, 1999) was a highly decorated submarine commander who led the rescue effort of the crew members of the USS "Cochino" during the Cold War. After retiring from the Navy, he was Pan American World Airways' vice president for Latin America. He was associate dean at the University of Miami Law School and Dean of the university's Graduate School of International Studies.

Early years

Benitez was born in Juncos, Puerto Rico, where he received his primary and secondary education. After he finished high school he was accepted in the United States Naval Academy by appointment of the Honorable Santiago Iglesias, Puerto Rico's Resident Commissioner. He graduated from the academy in 1939 and was assigned to submarine duty. During World War II, Benitez saw action aboard submarines and on various occasions weathered depth charge attacks. For his actions, he was awarded the Silver Star and two Bronze Stars. On January 29, 1946, Lieutenant Commander Benitez was given his first submarine command, the USS "Trumpetfish". Benitez, inspired by his father who was a judge, attended Georgetown Law School and earned his law degree in June 1949.Sontag, "Blind Man's Bluff". ]

"Cochino" incident

During the latter part of 1949, in the era which is commonly known as the Cold War Era, Benitez was given the command of the submarine USS "Cochino". On August 12, 1949, the "Cochino", along with the USS "Tusk", departed from the harbor of Portsmouth, England. Both diesel submarines were reported to be on a cold-water training mission. However, according to "", the submarines — equipped with snorkels that allowed them to spend long periods underwater, largely invisible to an enemy, and with electronic gear designed to detect far-off radio signals — were part of an American intelligence operation.

The mission of the "Cochino" and "Tusk" was to eavesdrop on communications that revealed the testing of submarine-launched Soviet missiles that might soon carry nuclear warheads. This was the first American undersea spy mission of the cold war.

On August 25, one the "Cochino"'s 4,000-pound batteries caught fire, emitting hydrogen gas and smoke. Unable to receive any help from the "Tusk", Commander Benitez directed the firefighting. He ordered the "Cochino" to surface and had dozens of crew members lash themselves to the deck rails with ropes while others fought the blaze. Benitez tried to save his ship and at the same time save his men from the toxic gases. He realized that the winds were about to tear the ropes and ordered his men to form a pyramid on the ship's open bridge, which was designed to hold seven men.The "Cochino" suffered two casualties, Lt. Cmdr. Richard M. Wright, who survived despite the fact that he was severely burned and Robert Philo, a civilian sonar expert, who attempted to reach the "Tusk" on a raft to report on the conditions of the "Cochino", but was knocked overboard along with 11 of the "Tusk"'s crew members. As a result, Philo and six of the Tusk's crew perished.

The ocean waters became calmer during the night and the "Tusk" was able to approach the "Cochino". All of the crew, with the exception of Commander Benitez, boarded the "Tusk". Finally, the crew members of the "Tusk" convinced Benitez to board the "Tusk", which he did two minutes before the "Cochino" sank off the coast of Norway.

In 1952, Benitez was named chief of the United States naval mission to Cuba, a position which he held until 1954. In 1955, Rear Admiral Benitez was given the command of the destroyer USS "Waldron". The "Waldron" resumed normal operations along the east coast and in the West Indies under his command after having completed a circumnavigation of the globe. Rear Admiral Rafael Celestino Benitez was the recipient of two Silver Star Medals.

Aftermath of the "Cochino" incident

According to the "New York Times" of April 5, 1997, "On September 20, 1949, the Soviet publication "Red Fleet" said the "Cochino" had been "not far from Murmansk" and suggested that it had been seeking military information. On September 23, President Harry S. Truman, confirming fears that had led to Commander Benitez's mission, announced that the Soviet Union had detonated its first nuclear device".

Post-Navy career

Benitez retired from the Navy in 1959, and became Pan American World Airways' vice president for Latin America. He taught international law and was associate dean at the University of Miami Law School and Dean of the university's Graduate School of International Studies. During his years at University of Miami Law School, Benitez founded the Graduate Program for Foreign Lawyers, now known as the LL.M. Program in Comparative Law. He also inaugurated the "Lawyer of the Americas" (the predecessor of the Inter-American Law Review) and started the Masters Program in Inter-American Law for U.S. Lawyers. In 1978, he served as a board member of the US Foundation of the University of the Valley of Guatemala, located in Delaware. Benitez was also the author of "Anchors" (ISBN 1-884878-05-9), a compilation of ethical and practical maxims, published on August 1996. On March 15, 2000, the University of Miami School of Law launched a Rafael C. Benitez Scholarship Fund to support the studies of foreign graduate students. [cite web|url=http://www.law.miami.edu/news/122.html
title=Reunion to Draw UM Law's International Alumni
publisher=University of Miami School of Law
date=2001
accessdate=2006-10-10]

Benitez resided in Easton, Maryland with his wife and three children, a son and two daughters. On March 6, 1999, he died at the Memorial Hospital located in Easton.

Awards and Recognitions

Among Rear Admiral Benitez's decorations and medals were the following:

* with a Gold Star in lieu of a second award,
*,
*,
*,
*Badges:
*

ee also

*Hispanic Admirals in the United States Navy
*List of notable Puerto Ricans - Military
*Puerto Ricans in World War II

Notes

References

*cite web|url=http://www.mishalov.com/Benitez.html
title=Rear Admiral R.C. Benitez, 81, Dies; Led Cold War Rescue
author=Richard Goldstein
date=April 5, 1999
work=The New York Times
accessdate=2006-10-21

*cite book
title= [http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=1-006097771x-2 Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage]
publisher=Public Affairs
year=1998
last=Sontag
first=Sherry
coauthors=and Christopher Drew, with Annette Lawrence Drew
id=ISBN 006097771X

*cite web|url=http://www.law.miami.edu/news/54.html
title=R.C. Benitez Dies; UM Law Dean, Naval Hero
publisher=University of Miami School of Law
date=199
accessdate=2006-10-21

External links

*cite web|url=http://www.wikinfo.org/wiki.php?title=Rafael_C._Benitez&printable=yes
title=Rafael C. Benitez
publisher=Wikinfo
accessdate=2006-10-10

*cite web|url=http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/c10/cochino.htm
title=USS "Cochino"
work=Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
publisher=Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy
accessdate=2006-10-10

*cite web|url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08345.htm
title=USS "Cochino"
publisher=NavSource Naval History
accessdate=2006-10-10

*cite web|url=http://www.oneternalpatrol.com/uss-cochino-345.htm
title=USS "Cochino"
work=On Eternal Patrol
accessdate=2006-10-10

Further reading

*cite book
title=The Last Cruise: The Story of the Sinking of the Submarine, U.S.S. Cochino
year=1950
authorlink=William Lederer
author=Commander William J. Lederer, USN
publisher=Sloane
id=ASIN B0007E631Y