Private First Class Angel Luis Rivera

Early Life

Angel Luis Rivera was born in Las Piedras, Puerto Rico officially on March 10, 1930.  However, according to his son Roland, Rivera’s birthday was actually earlier but they had to wait for a midwife to visit their home to get the official documentation. The family estimates that Rivera was actually born in November 1929.

The Rivera family was not very wealthy and had to work hard to survive. His parents worked in the sugar industry but they also tried to find other jobs for additional income, such as selling extra produce and farm animals. During 1942, many sugar workers went on strike demanding high wages and more employment opportunities. 

Rivera was the eldest son, so he felt responsible to financially support his parents and siblings. When he was 18 years old, Rivera dropped out of school and decided to immigrate to New York City. His son Roland recalled that Rivera intentionally did not tell his father of his plans because he did not want his father to reject it.  

According to the 1950 census, Rivera lived in an apartment building as a lodger with nine other people. Also, his Official Military Personnel File stated that Rivera worked different jobs, including at Atlas Metal Works where he “polished metal novelties with an electronic buffer.” Rivera sent the money he earned and clothing to his parents and siblings since they were in desperate need of financial support.

Homefront

Rivera grew up in Las Piedras, Puerto Rico, which had major economic struggles in the 1930’s. The main cash crop of Puerto Rico was sugarcane, which had an off season of four months out of the year, known as “tiempo muerto.” This time was when poverty became extreme and families suffered. Sugarcane work was the main job of Puerto Ricans, and the wages for sugar farmers ranged from 50 to 80 cents a day, which meant $150 to $200 a year for families. 

Workers were treated poorly, paid unfairly, and faced off season layoffs, which put many in extreme poverty. As a result, the Confederación General de Trabajadores (CGT) formed. It was a worker-led movement that urged Puerto Rican workers to meet the needs of the people rather than of the exports. 

Due to Puerto Rico’s reliance on export agriculture, they became dependent on imported food. Sugarcane fields took up a lot of land, reducing land available for other crops or subsistence agriculture. Many of these farms were owned by American sugar companies. 

In the 1940s, a sugar industry worker strike cemented the influence and strength of the CGT. The industry-wide strike against sugar workers’ treatment started on January 19, 1941, when they demanded that the CGT be able to bargain their conditions and wages for them. The strike ended on February 6, 1941. The CGT successfully joined with autonomous worker organizations to get worker rights and a recognized minimum wage. After the island realized it could not support its people with plantation agriculture, it came up with “Operation Bootstrap.” This was a plan for Puerto Rico to switch from an agrarian economy to an industrial economy. 

There were not enough jobs for everyone. A large wave of local Puerto Ricans decided to move to the mainland because of the economic struggle, searching for more job opportunities, with fair wages and better working conditions. Puerto Ricans were able to travel to the United States because of the Jones-Shafroth Act, passed in 1917 by Woodrow Wilson, which declared Puerto Ricans to be U.S. citizens. This movement became known as Puerto Rico’s “Great Migration.” 85% of the post-World War II migrants went to New York City so they and their families could have better lives. By 1945, there were over 13,000 Puerto Ricans in New York City. By 1955, the number increased to 700,000 people.

Military Experience

Before being drafted, Rivera did not actually want to go into the military. According to Roland Rivera, his son, Rivera had learned English in school but wanted to avoid the draft. When questioned about his ability to speak the language, he lied and said that he could not, so the recruiters needed proof he could speak the language. The recruiters had him wait for a long time in the hope he would get bored and pick up a newspaper. When Rivera picked up the newspaper and read it, the recruiters watched. This provided them with proof he could read English and was eligible to be drafted.

Rivera joined the Marine Corps on September 6, 1951 in the Defense Readiness Reporting System, New York, New York. Rivera started with the rank of a private during his service, then later became a private first class. Rivera received his basic training in camp J.H. Pendleton in Southern California. There he studied the Ground Training and Readiness Program before being deployed into war. Rivera left the United States on February 27 1952, on the USS General W. H. Gordon to go to Korea from San Diego, California. He returned to the United States about a year later on March 31, 1953 on the USS General Hase.

Rivera was a member of the U.S Marine Corps and played a critical role in the Korean War. As a member of the 7^th Marine Regiment, 3^rd Battalion, G Company, Rivera engaged in combat from April 1953 to March 1953 in battle zones of Central and Southern Korea. He likely participated in the Second Battle of the Hook against the Chinese, and outpost battles along the main line in early 1953.  

Rivera did not talk about his experiences during the war often; however, later in life he did relay two near-death experiences. According to his Purple Heart application and his son Roland, Rivera and a Korean soldier were sent in a Jeep down a hill to recover ammunition. To avoid detection, he and the soldier tried to cover the headlights, but were not successful. As they returned to camp, they were hit by a mortar shell, which flipped the jeep and killed the Korean soldier. Rivera later woke up in a mortuary tent and then took two months to recover from the attack. Rivera claimed that his event contributed to traumatic brain injuries and hearing loss. 

Another story provided by his son is that he got invited to visit a friend’s foxhole. While he was there, Rivera’s own foxhole was destroyed. Roland recalled later in life that his father suffered from post traumatic stress disorder as a result of his wartime experiences.

Family Struggles

During the Korean War, Angel Rivera struggled to secure a better future for his family based on the hardships they experienced while he was fighting. His parents, Ulises and Carmen, sent desperate letters to the military, seeking money since his father was unemployed and they were struggling to make ends meet. They attempted to claim they were Rivera’s dependents and therefore entitled to an allowance from the United States government. They sent letters detailing their monthly expenses to prove their poverty and even had the mayor of Juncos attest to their good standing. Ulises claimed his monthly expenses were $124, and his income was about $30. However, the government denied any dependency allowance because in order to be eligible as a dependent they had to earn less than half of their monthly expenses.

His parents claimed that perhaps because they did not understand English well, they did not understand the form when they filled it out. Even after a fourth review, the military still denied their request. His mother, Carmen, lamented that their son Angel was their only son who financially helped them and that they were struggling to pay rent. In one letter to the Marine Corps, Carmen wrote that “For you he [Angel Rivera] is a simple soldier fighting to defend the country, but for me he is a part of my heart that supplies the home economically.” Rivera allotted $40 per month sent to his father for the duration of his active service, much less than the $100 per month he was able to send to his family before he joined the military. In 1953, when he decided to leave active duty, one of the reasons he cited for leaving was because he could earn higher pay outside of the military. 

While Rivera may not have enjoyed his military experience, he did have pride in the fact that he served America in the Korean War. Rivera left active duty in September 1953, from his last duty station at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, but continued to serve in the Marine Corps Reserves until 1959. While in the military, he received several awards, including a Korean Service Medal with three stars, signifying he participated in three campaigns during the war, and a United Nations Service Ribbon.

Based on his military files and exit interview, Rivera said that his perspective of the military was upsetting. He did not leave a glowing review of it, saying that it was damaging and not a positive experience. He also noted in his military file that he wanted to leave due to the low pay and “that the Corps has shown him all the ‘bad’ and not the good.” After two years in active duty, he was discharged so he could seek better opportunities in civilian life and better support his family in Puerto Rico.

Veteran Experience

After being discharged from the military, Rivera remained active. He forged his legacy on the core concept of hard work, supporting his family. This influenced him to work rigorously, notably being employed as a fabricator for Fiberglass Resources. He was also a night aid at Pilgrim’s State Hospital and took up various side jobs, such as being a taxi driver.  

Rivera started a family in New York City, where he married Geronima S. Rivera. They had a daughter, Linda, and two sons, Roland and Michael. They settled on Long Island, leaving the center of the city to raise their family. Rivera maintained a strong bond with his children, and even encouraged his son Roland, despite his views, to join the military because he believed it was a good opportunity. Rivera also often visited Puerto Rico to keep in touch with the community and see his mother and cousins who still lived there. There he participated in local baseball games as part of a Puerto Rican team.

Despite finally being back in his community and free from the military, Rivera continued to be affected by his time in the Army. Rivera suffered from various disabilities. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was not considered a mental health diagnosis until 1980, but nonetheless, he was a victim of PTSD. His son, Roland Rivera, remembered his father would wake up in a panic, thinking he was back at war. Rivera specifically said, “If you shake his hand, it was like shaking a rock,” and it was dangerous to be the person who had to wake him up from sleep. 

Rivera would not talk about his war experience to anyone until very late in life. Not only did he suffer from PTSD, his hearing suffered, too. Due to being surrounded by loud gunshots and bombs, he experienced hearing loss. His Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and hearing trauma were severe, according to his Purple Heart application. Aside from these effects, Rivera also sustained physical injuries, as the mortar shell caused a leg injury, according to his son.

Commemoration

When Angel Rivera passed away on March 24, 2019, at the age of 90, he left an exceptional impact in his community that continues to be seen through his children. He believed that in order to get ahead in life, you have to work hard, and he did. 

Rivera is buried at the Albert G. Horton Memorial Veterans Cemetery, in Suffolk, Virginia.

Bibliography

Primary Sources

Angel Luis Rivera. Application for Purple Heart. March 31, 2009. Rivera Family Records. Courtesy of Roland Rivera.

Angel Luis Rivera. Official Military Personnel File, Department of the Navy, National Archives and Records Administration – St. Louis.

Delano, Jack. Yabucoa, Puerto Rico. Sugar workers on a strike at a mill. Photograph. December 1941. Library of Congress (2017798925).  https://www.loc.gov/item/2017798925/.

Delano, Jack. Yabucoa, Puerto Rico (vicinity). Procession of sugar strikers through a small town. Photograph. December 1941. Library of Congress (2017799085). https://www.loc.gov/item/2017799085/. 

Lowe, Jet. Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, Spanning East River between Whitestone, Queens & the Bronx, Bronx, Bronx County, NY. Photograph. Historic American Engineering Record, Library of Congress (ny1810). https://www.loc.gov/item/ny1810/. 

New York. Bronx. 1950 U.S. Federal Census. Digital image. https://ancestry.com/.

Puerto Rico. Boquerón. 1935-1936 U.S. Social and Population Schedules. Digital image. https://ancestry.com/.

Puerto Rico. Juncos. 1940 U.S. Federal Census. Digital image. https://ancestry.com/

Puerto Rico. Juncos. 1950 U.S. Federal Census. Digital image. https://ancestry.com/

Puerto Rico. Las Piedras. 1910 U.S. Federal Census. Digital image. https://ancestry.com/

Puerto Rico. Las Piedras. 1930 U.S. Federal Census. Digital image. https://ancestry.com/

Rivera, Roland. Personal interview with the author. January 14, 2024

Rosskam, Edwin. Cutting sugar cane. Near Ponce, Puerto Rico. Photograph. January 1938. Library of Congress (2017764522). https://www.loc.gov/item/2017764522/. 

Secondary Sources

“Angel Luis Rivera.” Find a Grave. Updated March 26, 2019. Accessed March 26, 2025. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/197837678/angel-luis-rivera.

“Angel Luis Rivera.” Parr Funeral Home & Crematory. Accessed November 11, 2024. https://www.parrfuneralhome.com/obituary/angel-rivera?lud=9F282D67CCAC61E7EA7D14EA1B0CDDBB.

“Angel L. Rivera.” Veterans Legacy Memorial. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Accessed March 26, 2025. https://www.vlm.cem.va.gov/ANGELLRIVERA/96598f.

Asenjo, Conrado F., José A. Goyco, and Zaida Martínez-Pico. “Puerto Rican Fatty Oils. VI. The Characteristics and Composition of ‘Molinillo’ Seed Oil.” Journal of the American Chemical Society 67, no. 11 (November 1945): 1936–37. https://doi.org/10.1021/ja01227a018. 

DesRochers, Aly. “Research Guides: Yo Soy (I Am): The Historical Trajectory of Language in Puerto Rico: English Language Influence.” Research Guide. Library of Congress. Accessed November 11, 2024. https://guides.loc.gov/language-in-puerto-rico/english-language. 

Román, Iván. “Puerto Rico’s 65th Infantry Fought Bravely in Korea—Then Had to Fight for Redemption.” HISTORY. A&E Television Networks, August 17, 2023. https://www.history.com/news/puerto-rico-65th-infantry-borinqueneers. 

Román, Iván. “Why Puerto Rican Migration to the US Boomed After 1945.” HISTORY. A&E Television Networks, May 9, 2023. https://www.history.com/news/puerto-rico-great-migration-postwar.

Thurber, Dani. “Research Guides: A Latinx Resource Guide: Civil Rights Cases and Events in the United States: 1917: Jones-Shafroth Act.” Research Guide. Library of Congress. Accessed November 13, 2024. https://guides.loc.gov/latinx-civil-rights/jones-shafroth-act.

“The U.S. Gaze Towards Its Modern Sugar Island. Library of Congress. Accessed March 4, 2025. https://www.loc.gov/ghe/cascade/index.html?appid=e2a6acfb2a7c401cb49de5a0d913084a&bookmark=The%20U.S.%20Gaze. 

Yglesias, Matthew. “The Jones Act, the Obscure 1920 Shipping Regulation Strangling Puerto Rico, Explained.” Vox, September 27, 2017. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/9/27/16373484/jones-act-puerto-rico.

This profile was funded by a grant from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. The opinions, findings, and conclusions stated herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.