Rafael Montilla

Rafael Montilla
Personal details
Born	1908
Died	26 June 1981
Nativity	Puerto Rico
Religion	Catholic
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
Arm / service	Infantry
ASN	01301860
Rank	Second Lieutenant
Camp Ritchie	Class 8 (17 May – 16 July 1943)
Section	7C

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Rafael Montilla (1908–1981) was a Ritchie Boy (from Puerto Rico; Catholic) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 8.

Biography

Rafael Montilla was a Ritchie Boy. From the Army Times, Volume 19, Issue 15, dated November 15, 1955, there is an article "Infantry OCS Hall of Fame Names First Puerto Rican" Fort Brooke, Puerto Rico - Col. Rafael Montilla, Army Professor of Military Science and Tactics, University of Puerto Rico, has been selected for the Infantry Officer Candidate School’s graduate “Hall of Fame,” recently established at Fort Benning, Georgia. He is the first Puerto Rican officer and member of U.S. Army Forces Antilles and Military District of Puerto Rico to be so honored. Montilla, who arrived in the Antilles command last July, received a letter from Brig. Larsen, assistant commandant of the Infantry School notifying him that he had been selected as one of the outstanding graduates to be included. The Hall of Fame is for infantry OCS graduates who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and professional development in their military careers. Officers selected must have attained the rank of lieutenant colonel or have been awarded the Medal of Honor. Civilians selected are those graduates presently in high federal or state political offices or on a secretarial level in a military department. Rafael Montilla, was a native of Puerto Rico, and entered the Army in 1942 as a Second Lieutenant, Infantry upon graduation from the Infantry School at Fort Benning the same year. In 1947, he was appointed captain in the Regular Army. He is a graduate of Blackstone College of Law, Chicago, Illinois, from which he received his LLB in 1952. He has attended the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie, Marylandd.; the Infantry Officer Advanced Course and the Airborne School at Benning; the Army Arctic Indoctrination Course at Big Delta, Alaska; and the Special Weapons Course of the Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kans. Prior to his return to Puerto Rico, he was Senior Unit Advisor, 79th Inf. and XXI USA Corps, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Montilla passed away on June 26, 1981.

Research notes

No notes were in the source row. Add what you know.

Technical record

Field	Imported value
Approx Age at Death	73
Class_ASN	301860
Class_Name	MONTILLA, Rafael
match_method	asn_partial_name_exact
row_source	both

Sources

• Camp Ritchie class roster (classes 1–31), merged research file
• NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
• 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
• Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2023-02-19 (1 post)