Rafael Celestino Benítez
| Rafael Celestino Benítez | |
|---|---|
Rear Admiral Rafael Celestino Benítez
|
|
| Born |
March 9, 1917 Juncos, Puerto Rico |
| Died | March 6, 1999 (aged 81) Easton, Maryland |
| Buried at | Oxford Cemetery in Oxford, Maryland. |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Navy
|
| Years of service | 1939–1959 |
| Rank |
 Rear Admiral |
| Commands held | USS Cochino (SS-345) |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards |
 Silver Star (2) Bronze Star
|
| Other work | Pan American Airways VP |
Rear Admiral Rafael Celestino Benítez (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 taught international law for 16 years at the University of Miami School of Law, and served as Associate Dean, Interim Dean and director and founder of the foreign graduate law program. While there, he founded the Comparative Law LL.M. program, the Inter-American Law LL.M. program, and the Inter-American Law Review. After his death, the university established a scholarship in his memory to benefit a foreign attorney who is enrolled in one of the Law School's LL.M. programs.
Benítez 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, Benítez saw action aboard the submarines U.S.S. Dace (SS-247) and U.S.S. Grenadier (SS-210) and on various occasions weathered depth charge attacks. For his actions, he was awarded the Silver Star twice and the Bronze Star Medal.
He served as commanding officer (with the rank of lieutenant commander) of the submarine USS Halibut (SS-232) from February 15, 1945 to May 19, 1945. The Halibut was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the halibut, a large species of flatfish. She was launched on December 3, 1941 and commissioned on April 10, 1942. The Halibut had an impressive war record, which included sinking 12 Japanese ships, but was damaged beyond reasonable repair on her tenth and final war patrol which ended on December 1, 1944. Benítez's only mission as commander of the Halibut was to bring her from San Francisco to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where she was decommissioned on July 18, 1945.
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