He married socialite Esperanza Soldevilla Cornejo, daughter of Philippine legislator, Miguel R. Cornejo, in 1951. As a Lieutenant in the Philippine Navy, he was sent to attend the professional United States Marine Corps TBS at Quantico, Virginia, and transferred to the U.S. with his wife and two small children, Augustus Caesar and Eduardo, in 1954. As part of the Philippine Military and Diplomatic Corps in Washington DC, his daughters Cezarina Barbara and Esperanza Patricia were born at the U.S. Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, while he made a name in public and civic service.