By Leonard Rodriguez
This column highlights inspiring stories of Latino leaders. For more than 500 years, Latino men and women have positively influenced the face of United States society. Let us celebrate these outstanding hispanics.
Edward Kunhardt Hidalgo
Former U.S. Secretary of the Navy, Edward Kunhardt Hidalgo was born in Mexico City in 1912. He immigrated to the U.S and was naturalized in 1936, enjoying prolific military and law careers. He holds degrees from Columbia Law School and the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and practiced with the finest law firms in New York, Paris and Mexico City. During World War II, he served as an air combat intelligence officer, special assistant to the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal and as a member of the Eberstadt Commission on the Unification of the Military Services.
He also was special assistant to Secretary of the Navy Paul Nitze and later general counsel to the U.S. Information Agency. In 1979, Hidalgo was appointed Secretary of the Navy by President Carter.
