After receiving additional aviation training, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant and assigned to the ''First Marine Air Squadron'' which deployed to France as the newly renamed 1st Marine Aviation Force in July 1918. There Rigau Carrera and his unit provided bomber and fighter support to the Navy's ''Day Wing, Northern Bombing Group''. While serving in First Marine Air Squadron, Rigau Carrera became the first Puerto Rican to pilot a fixed-wing aircraft and the first Hispanic fighter pilot in the Marines.

		Historical Flights In 1918, after the war, the ship in which Rigau Carrera and his fellow Marines were docked in Yorktown, Virginia. While on leave, he met Bertha Dunston (1900–1989), who became his wife in 1919 and with whom he was to have three children, Felix (1921–1995), Carmen (1923-), and Jaime (1925–1970).   He was assigned to the US Naval Aviation Detachment, first at Minneapolis, MN, and then at Seattle, WA, by the end of November 1918. Rigau Carrera returned to Puerto Rico and made it clear to everyone that knew him that his main objective was to be able to someday own his own and fly his own aircraft. Consequently, his four brothers helped him financially to buy his first aircraft, a Curtiss JN-4, which he bought in 1919.  Rigau Carrera piloted his first flight in Puerto Rico, flying out of Camp Las Casas, the exact area where Residencial Las Casas is currently located, becoming the first Puerto Rican pilot to do so. At the time, the area was used by the military as an air base and it was also Puerto Rico's first commercial airport, and Rigau Carrera was allowed to perform his historic flight from the air field.
Rigau Carrera poses in front of his aircraft a Curtiss JN-4

Rigau Carrera then started using the air base frequently, for exhibition flights and to carry paying passengers on sightseeing trips. He became a national hero in Puerto Rico during the 1920s, traveling to many Puerto Rican cities by air. The local town people celebrated his landings with live music and fireworks and he became known as "The Eagle of Sabana Grande".  

In 1931, Rigau Carrera was given a license by San Juan's mail system authority to deliver mail via air mail throughout the island, becoming the first pilot to fly on air mail carrying duties in Puerto Rico. Rigau Carrera then established a system similar to the one used by the airlines today, where he would fly people from one point of the island to another, with paying customers on board. Not all of his career went without problems, as Rigau Carrera almost lost his life during flights twice, once in San German and another time in Guanica. 

Later Years                                                    

Rigau Carrera settled in Gloucester, Virginia in the early 1920s. He lived with his family in an old Abingdon Glebe School House and constructed a building to house a flour mill and other enterprises. Rigau Carrera founded the Rigau Concrete Works which manufactured a wide variety of items to meet the industrial needs of the developing county.  

Besides concrete blocks, he cast septic tanks, culverts, burial vaults and yard furniture. Rigau Carrera and his wife Bertha, who were certified undertakers, established a funeral home. He amassed a fortune as the owner of a funeral home and a concrete factory.  

When the United States entered World War ll, Rigau Carrera joined the Merchant Marines and served throughout the war years. During these years, Felix and Bertha divorced. He met and married Estella Martins from the Azores of Portugal with whom he had three more children, Felix, Philip, and Maria. 

On October 13, 1954, Rigau Carrera died at the age of 70 and was buried with full military honors at Abingdon Episcopal Church Cemetery. His native hometown, Sabana Grande, named a street ''Calle Felix Rigau Carrera'' in his honor. 

Awards and recognitions 

Among 2nd Lt. Felix Rigau Carrera's decorations and medals were the following:   

*World War I Victory Medal, 

Badges: