Rudolph W. Riefkohl

Infobox Military Person
name= "Rudolph W. Riefkohl"
born= 1885
died=
placeofbirth=Maunabo, Puerto Rico
placeofdeath=


caption= Brigadier General Rudolph William Riefkohl
allegiance= United States of America
branch=
serviceyears=
rank=
battles=
awards=

Brigadier General Rudolph William Riefkohl (born c. 1885), was the first Puerto Rican to receive a "tombstone promotion" to Brigadier General after his death which technically makes him the first Hispanic general in the United States Army.

Early years

Born and raised in the town of Maunabo, Puerto Rico, Riefkohl was the oldest of five siblings born to Luis Riefkohl and Julia Jaimieson. His other siblings were Frederick Louis, Helen, Emily and Luise Riefkohl. [http://www.cohrs.de/gene/riefkohl/pedigrees/2a.html Descendants of Otto Julius Riefkohl] ] Riefkohl's younger brother was Rear Admiral Frederick Lois Riefkohl, an officer in the United States Navy who was the first Puerto Rican to graduate from the United States Naval Academy and the first to be awarded the Navy Cross for his actions in World War I. [ [http://64.70.201.125/valor/0_NC/03_ncross_wwiUSN_chron.html WWI US NAVY Recipients of The Navy Cross] ]

Military career

In 1910, Riefkohl earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) before joining the United States Army. [ [http://www.e-yearbook.com/yearbooks/Massachusetts_Institute_Technology_Technique_Yearbook/1910/Page_261.html 1910 MIT Yearbook] ] According to the United States War Department, on April 1, 1918, Riefkohl served as Captain of Coastal Artillery at the Letterman Army Medical Center in Presidio of San Francisco, in California. [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=gGIaAAAAMAAJ&pg=PT70&lpg=PT70&dq=rudolph+william+riefkohl&source=web&ots=uai-pqTMHy&sig=W1EKzzwM3_LYEU0OGo8GDhFAJ3Q#PPT70,M1 Army Directory ... By United States War Dept, United States Adjutant-General's Office, United States] ]

In June 1919, Col. Harry L. Gilchrist was informed to assist Poland in coping with its typhus epidemic. He emphasized the necessity of having trained personnel to deal with the emergency and to instruct the Poles with the use of the equipment being purchased. General John J. Pershing had decided that organizational matters should be handled by General William Durward Conner, who in turn instructed Lieutenant Colonel Frank E. Estes, of the Army Service Corps, to mount the expedition.

Etses then dispatched Riefkohl, who was then a Major, and Captain Pumhrey to Brest, France where they were instructed to assemble a new command. The Army Service Corps at Brest was organized into two separate units and later reorganized into a battalion commanded by Riefkohl. Riefkohl's battalion was successful in its mission and played an instrumental role helping the Poles overcome their epidemic. [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=BNaHDbvpfuEC&pg=PA23&lpg=PA23&dq=rudolph+w+riefkohl&source=web&ots=Ij6xTpCnb4&sig=V_mZQmF0iLYqxUaPqnJs-oNk_JQ#PPA51,M1 Typhus and Doughboys: The American Polish Typhus Relief Expedition, 1919-1921 By Alfred E. Cornebise Pages 23, 25, 119 and 120] ] Riefkohl was among the Army officers who attended and graduated form the third course of the Army Industrial College which was held from February 2, 1925 to June 30 1925 [ [http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:wsQ9oC4YxzIJ:www.ndu.edu/library/ic7/L25-021.pdf+Rudolph+Riefkohl&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=35&gl=us&ie=UTF-8 Army Industrial College] ]

Rudolph W. Riefkohl retired as a Colonel in the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Upon his death he received a "tombstone promotion" which was once was the custom of the military. [ [http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1973/jan-feb/marsh.html Divorce—Military Style] ] This posthumous promotion technically makes Riefkohl the first Hispanic general in the United States Army. [http://www.cohrs.de/gene/riefkohl/pedigrees/2a.html Descendants of Otto Julius Riefkohl] ]

ee also

*List of famous Puerto Ricans - military
*German immigration to Puerto Rico

Further reading

The American Polish Typhus Relief Expedition, 1919-1921 By Alfred E. Cornebise, Published 1982, University of Delaware Press, ISBN 0874132169

References