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Major General <em>Luis Raul Esteves</em>, the organizer of the Puerto Rico National Guard, and its Adjutant General for almost twenty years, passed away in San Juan in the early hours of 12 March 1958, after an illness of less than three weeks.</div>
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General Esteves was a pioneer in more than one way. He was the first Puerto Rican to graduate from the United States Military Academy; he was also the first to see the necessity of a National Guard organization in the Island immediately following World War I. His efforts with the Governor and the Legislature led to the organization of the Puerto Rico National Guard in 1919. Following his tradition of doing first things, he was the first of the 1915 West Point Class to become a General officer. This was quite a feat in itself considering that such outstanding officers as Generals Eisenhower, Bradley, Van Fleet and McNarney were his classmates.</div>
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Esteves was five years old at the time of the American occupation of Puerto Rico in 1898. In 1907, having completed his elementary schooling in nis home town, Aguadilla, which was as high as he could go there at the time, his parents sent him to Nlayaguez for his secondary education. While in his last year his mother regretfully informed him that previous plans to send him to study for an engineering career in the United States had to be dropped. The family had grown too large while the home finances had remained in status quo.</div>
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A few days later he ran into a news item announcing examinations for entry into West Point. Without his parents’ knowledge he filed an application, passed the required tests and was accepted.</div>
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His first few months at the Academy were rather difficult due to his limited knowledge of the English language. He was quick, however, to overcome this difficulty and four years later he was graduated with the class that years later was to be known as the Class of the Generals.</div>
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Another incident that characterized General Esteves’ destiny as a pioneer occurred after his graduation from West Point. To the dismay of Academy authorities it was discovered that although Puerto Rico belonged to the United States its inhabitants were not American citizens, which precluded commissioning Esteves in the Regular Army. However, when the matter was brought up to the attention of the War Department, someone there dug out an old precedent that saved the young and eager cadet. Lafayette, Von Steuben and other Europeans had been commissioned in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, so, why not Esteves? He got his commission.</div>
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His first assignment was with the 23rd Infantry in Texas City. During the “Pancho Villa Incident” he was sent to El Paso and then to the town of Polvo in Mexico, where he was appointed Mayor and Judge by the local citizens. In El Paso he met the girl who was later to become Mrs. Esteves, Senorita Guadalupe Navarro, an American citizen of Mexican extraction.</div>
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At the beginning of the first World War his Regiment was transferred to Syracuse, N. Y. By this time the old 23rd was not the same disciplined, trained and efficient organization it had been when Esteves joined it. The Regiment had been split into two groups to provide a cadre for the newly organized 34th Infantry. Esteves, as a Captain, was the Second in Command, Adjutant, commander of a battalion, the Band, the Mounted Orderlies, and a Machine Gun company.</div>
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The entry of the United States in World War I, the application of the draft laws to Puerto Rico, and his knowledge of the Spanish language brought Esteves back to nis native Island to serve as instructor at the Officers’ Training Camps that were established soon afterwards. He was instructor or commander of three of these camps, which produced all the officers who led the more than 20,000 men trained in Puerto Rico during that conflict.</div>
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In 1918, having been promoted to Major, he was preparing to open a fourth camp when the armistice was signed.</div>
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Following the war Major Esteves was transferred to the State of Washington, but due to the sickness of his wife and a medical admonition that residence in a cold climate might be fatal to her, he was forced to resign his commission in the Regular Army—something he regretted to the last day of his life.</div>
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As stated previously General Esteves organized the first units of the Puerto Rico National Guard in 1919, commanded its first battalion and its first regiment. When a second regiment was added he commanded both units. Then in 1937 he was made Adjutant General of Puerto Rico.</div>
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In October 1940 he was ordered to active duty and commanded the 92nd Infantry Brigade until summoned by the Governor, with Army approval, to organize a State Guard that in a short time consisted of nine well trained and equipped regiments. He reverted to National Guard status for the reorganization of the Puerto Rico National Guard in November 1946 at which time he resumed his position as Adjutant General, a position he held until his retirement in June 1957.</div>
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General Esteves was a man of many interests. Military history was his main hobby. The Military Museum at National Guard headquarters in San Juan is a mute witness of his untiring efforts to collect mementos of the glorious deeds of the conquerors of the New World. He was a writer of note, specializing in travel chronicles and military treatises. His humorous stories about soldiers’ lives, about which he published two books, are among the best ever written in any language. He was also a great connoisseur of art in all its manifestations.</div>
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General Esteves is survived by his widow, Mrs. Guadalupe Navarro de Esteves, and his children Raul, Vernon, Roberto, and Maricel.</div>