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	Colonel
Rank at Ritchie	Second Lieutenant
Camp Ritchie	Class 8 (17 May – 16 July 1943)
Section	7C

Research notes on this page are compiled from the source file and later edits. They may be unverified, incomplete, or incorrect, and should not be treated as established fact. Please correct the article or add sources on the talk page. For class-roster terms, see About the data.

Sources & confidence: Treat Research notes as leads, not settled fact. Prefer NARA, the class roster, newspapers, Find a Grave, or published histories for contested claims. Mark unsourced claims with {{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.

Rafael Montilla (1908 – 26 June 1981) was a Ritchie Boy (from Puerto Rico; Catholic) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 8.

Biography

Rafael Montilla was born in 1908 in Puerto Rico. He entered the Army in 1942 and was commissioned a second lieutenant of Infantry the same year upon graduation from Infantry Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning. He attended the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie (Class 8).

Montilla was appointed a captain in the Regular Army in 1947. His later schooling included the Infantry Officer Advanced Course and Airborne School at Fort Benning, Arctic indoctrination at Big Delta, Alaska, and the Special Weapons Course of the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth. He earned an LL.B. from Blackstone College of Law in Chicago in 1952.

As a colonel he served as Senior Unit Advisor to the 79th Infantry Division and XXI Corps in Philadelphia, then as Army Professor of Military Science and Tactics at the University of Puerto Rico. He became the first Puerto Rican officer named to the Infantry OCS Hall of Fame at Fort Benning. Montilla died on 26 June 1981.

Research notes

• Cesar A. Montilla (0330877) is a different roster soldier and is not linked from this packet. No U.S. decoration is clearly named for the awards tuple.

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

Timeline

• 1908 — Born in Puerto Rico.
• 1942 — Entered the Army; commissioned second lieutenant of Infantry at Fort Benning; attended Camp Ritchie (Class 8).
• 1947 — Appointed captain in the Regular Army.
• 1952 — Received an LL.B. from Blackstone College of Law, Chicago.
• 1950s — Senior Unit Advisor, 79th Infantry Division / XXI Corps, Philadelphia; later PMS&T, University of Puerto Rico.
• 1958 — Named to the Infantry OCS Hall of Fame (first Puerto Rican so honored).
• 26 June 1981 — Died.

Sources

• Army Times material in the RB Archive Montilla packet
• RB Archive clipping — “Infantry OCS Hall of Fame Names First Puerto Rican” (Col. Rafael Montilla; Camp Ritchie; career schools)
• Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
• Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
• 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)