After his death, the university established a scholarship in his memory to benefit a foreign attorney who is enrolled in one of the Law School's LL.M.

After he finished high school, he was accepted in the United States Naval Academy by appointment of the Honorable Santiago Iglesias, Puerto Rico's Resident Commissioner.

Benítez's only mission as commander of the Halibut was to bring her from San Francisco to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where she was decommissioned on July 18, 1945.

However, according to Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage,[6] the submarines – equipped with snorkels that allowed them to spend long periods underwater, largely invisible to an enemy, and with electronic gear designed to detect far-off radio signals – were part of an American intelligence operation.

[2][3] The mission of the Cochino and Tusk was to eavesdrop on communications that revealed the testing of submarine-launched Soviet missiles that might soon carry nuclear warheads.

He ordered the Cochino to surface and had dozens of crew members lash themselves to the deck rails with ropes while others fought the blaze.

[3] According to the New York Times of April 5, 1997, "On September 20, 1949, the Soviet publication Red Fleet said the Cochino had been "not far from Murmansk" and suggested that it had been seeking military information.

On September 23, President Harry S. Truman, confirming fears that had led to Commander Benitez's mission, announced that the Soviet Union had detonated its first nuclear device".

The Waldron resumed normal operations along the East Coast and in the West Indies under his command after having completed a circumnavigation of the globe.

On March 15, 2000, the University of Miami School of Law launched a Rafael C. Benítez Scholarship Fund to support the studies of foreign graduate students.

Grenadier (SS-210) The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting a Gold Star in lieu of a Second Award of the Silver Star to Lieutenant Commander [then Lieutenant, Junior Grade] Rafael Celestino Benitez (NSN: 0-82557/1100), United States Navy, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity as Engineer and Diving Officer, attached to the U.S.S.

GRENADIER (SS-210), in action against enemy Japanese forces during the SECOND War Patrol of that Submarine in the Pacific Area from 12 April to 10 June 1942.

His conduct throughout was an inspiration to the officers and men of his ship and was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

DACE (SS-247), during the SIXTH War Patrol of that Submarine in action against enemy Japanese forces in the South China Sea Area from 2 December 1944 to 28 January 1945.

Through his coolness and initiative, he contributed directly to the success of his vessel in evading hostile countermeasures, and his devotion to duty was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.