Hispanic Heritage Month

The USMC Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

Guy Gabaldon

Please join the National Museum of the Marine Corps in celebrating all the contributions of Hispanic Marines have made and continue to make to the nation and the United States Marine Corps.

“Out of Many, One.”

Since proclaimed by Public Law 100-402 in 1988, September 15th through October 15th is observed as “National Hispanic Heritage Month.” During Hispanic Heritage Month, we take the opportunity to honor all Americans of Hispanic descent and to acknowledge their past and ongoing contributions to the success and growth of our Nation. The 2020 observance theme is: “Out of Many, One.”

Guy Gabaldon (California) was awarded the Silver Star for his actions in World War II during the Battles for Saipan and Tinian in 1944. As an 18 year-old, Gabaldon heroically captured or persuaded to surrender an estimated 1,300 to 1,500 Japanese soldiers and civilians on Saipan and Tinian, Mariana Islands, South Pacific. In 1960, his medal was upgraded to the Navy Cross. Standing tall at 5’3”, Gabaldon was known as a fearless, tough Marine with compassionate understanding for the Asian people and their culture. Before the war, while he was growing up in Los Angeles, California, Gabaldon befriended Japanese-American boys in his multi-ethnic neighborhood and learned common Japanese from their families. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he witnessed his close friends and “adopted family” sent away to a Wyoming internment camp. Gabaldon joined the Marine Corps despite a broken eardrum earned from youthful street fighting, where he earned the MOS of Scout and Observer and assigned to 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. His language skill undoubtedly influenced his ability to enlist. During his active service, he saved American and Japanese lives by persuading both enemy combatants and innocent islanders to surrender and come out of deep caves, pillboxes, and thick brush. He continually assured the Japanese that they would not be harmed and would be given food and medical care. He also spoke to many terrified women to not commit suicide by jumping off the rugged island cliffs with their children. By the time Gabaldon was seriously wounded in a machine gun ambush, he had captured well over 1,300 Japanese. Gabaldon’s early life and war experiences are memorialized in the 1960 film, “Hell to Eternity,” starring the 6’1” actor, Jeffrey Hunter. In 1970, Guy Gabaldon moved to Saipan and lived there for 20 years raising his own family with his second wife, Ohana. He opened a seafood business; ran a youth camp; flew small planes; and maintained ties with veterans. Guy Gabaldon, "The Pied Piper of Saipan", died in 2006 at age 80 in Florida. His body rests at Arlington National Cemetery.

LtGen Pedro A. del Valle

LtGen Pedro A. del Valle (Puerto Rico) is acknowledged as the first Hispanic Marine Corps Lieutenant General. Born on San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1893, he later graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1915. During WWII in 1945, he commanded as the CG, 1st Marine Division in the Battle of Okinawa. Today, the Marine Corps offers the Pedro del Valle Leadership Scholarship in his honor.

To learn more about the Marine Corps’ Hispanic heritage, Medal of Honor recipients, and U.S. military history, visit the Library of the Marine Corps (grc-usmcu.libguides.com/library-of-the-marine-corps) or select a book from the Commandant’s Professional Reading list (grc-usmcu.libguides.com/usmc-reading-list). To learn more about the life of Guy Gabaldon, read his autobiography, “Saipan: Suicide Island” (1990).

Learn more about the Marine Corps’ Hispanic heritage displayed in the Museum, by visiting these exhibits: WWII “U.S. Marines in Europe” and “Battle of Okinawa”, Korea “1946-1953 Inchon/Seoul”, and the “Medal of Honor Wall”.