Brigadier General Alberto A. Nido (1 March 1919 – 27 October 1991) is a former United States Air Force officer who during World War II served in the Royal Canadian Air Force, the British Royal Air Force and in the United States Army Air Forces. He was also the co-founder of the Puerto Rico Air National Guard. Early years Nido was born and raised in the town of Arroyo in Puerto Rico. There he received his primary and secondary education. In 1938, he enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico and studied mechanical engineering in the institution's Mayagüez Campus. During his days as a university student, he decided that he would like to become an aviator for the United States Armed Forces. After he earned his college degree, Nido traveled to the island of Saint Thomas of the U.S. Virgin Islands with the intention of joining the United States Naval Aviation. Nido passed the physical examination, however he was denied acceptance into the aviation program because of a minor dental problem. According to the examining medical doctor, the fact that he had one tooth that grew above another would make it impossible for him to fly in high altitudes. He then traveled to Washington, D.C. and attempted to join the armed forces there. After passing the physical examination, he was again denied acceptance, for the same reason. Nido then traveled to Tulsa, Oklahoma and enrolled in the Sparton School of Aviation where in 1941, he received his pilot's certificate. Military career After he graduated, he was given a job as an aviation instructor in the institution. An officer of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) who was in Tulsa looking for recruits asked Nido to consider joining them. Nido accepted the offer and in September 1941, he received a telegram from the RCAF office in New York City, requesting his presence at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Nido traveled to New York and on 7 September, was sworn in as a member of the RCAF. After 3 months of intense training in Canada, Nido was commissioned a Flying Officer and sent to an air base in Quebec, where he served as an aviation instructor to bomber pilots and aerial gunners. Nido returned to his homeland, to spend 15 days with his mother and three brothers Rafael, Pedro and Thomas, who were members of the United States Armed Forces. During his stay he