Frederick Lois Riefkohl

Frederick Lois Riefkohl
United States Naval Academy cadet Frederick Lois Riefkohl Riefkohl was the first Puerto Rican to graduate from the United States Naval Academy
Born	(1889-02-27)February 27, 1889 Maunabo, Puerto Rico
Died	September 1969 (aged 80) Brevard County, Florida
Place of burial	United States Naval Academy Cemetery in Annapolis, Maryland.
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1911-1947
Rank	Rear Admiral
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Navy Cross Navy Distinguished Service Medal Purple Heart

Rear Admiral Frederick Lois Riefkohl (February 27, 1889 – September 1969), a native of Maunabo, Puerto Rico, was an officer in the United States Navy and the first Puerto Rican to graduate from the United States Naval Academy and to be awarded the Navy Cross. The Navy Cross is the second highest medal, after the Medal of Honor, that can be awarded by the U.S. Navy for heroism or distinguished service. He was a World War I Navy Cross recipient who served as Captain of the USS Vincennes during World War II.

Born Luis Federico Riefkohl Jaimieson), he was born and raised in Maunabo, Puerto Rico, a son of Luis Riefkohl y Sandoz and Julia Jaimieson. His older brother was Rudolph W. Riefkohl, a Colonel in the United States Army Corps of Engineers, who played an instrumental role in helping the people of Poland overcome the 1919 typhus epidemic. His other siblings were his sisters, Helen, Emily and Louise Riefkohl.

Luis Federico Riefkohl received his primary and secondary education in the towns of Arroyo; Christainsted, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands and spent three and a half years at Phillips Andover Academy in Boston, Massachusetts. Riefkohl received an appointment on July 5, 1907, from Beekman Winthrop, the U.S. appointed governor of Puerto Rico from 1904 to 1907, to attend the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. In 1911, he became the first Puerto Rican to graduate from the Academy.