Hector A. Cafferata Jr.

Hector Albert Cafferata Jr., USMCR (November 4, 1929 – April 12, 2016) was a United States Marine who received the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War. In November 1950, Private First Class Cafferata single-handedly held off a regimental-strength enemy and saved wounded Marines by hurling away a live grenade that had landed in their midst, at the cost of serious personal injury.

Note: Edited interview transcript featured in Beyond Glory: Medal of Honor Heroes in their Own Words (2003) by Larry Smith, New York: W.W. Norton & Company, hardcover, pages 129-142.

• To tell you the truth, I did it. I know I did it. Other people know I did it. But I'll be God damned if I know how I did it. Put it that way.
  • p. 129

• For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a rifleman with Company F, in action against enemy aggressor forces. When all the other members of his fire team became casualties, creating a gap in the lines, during the initial phase of a vicious attack launched by a fanatical enemy of regimental strength against his company's hill position, Pvt. Cafferata waged a lone battle with grenades and rifle fire as the attack gained momentum and the enemy threatened penetration through the gap and endangered the integrity of the entire defensive perimeter. Making a target of himself under the devastating fire from automatic weapons, rifles, grenades, and mortars, he maneuvered up and down the line and delivered accurate and effective fire against the onrushing force, killing 15, wounding many more, and forcing the others to withdraw so that reinforcements could move up and consolidate the position. Again fighting desperately against a renewed onslaught later that same morning when a hostile grenade landed in a shallow entrenchment occupied by wounded marines, Pvt. Cafferata rushed into the gully under heavy fire, seized the deadly missile in his right hand and hurled it free of his comrades before it detonated, severing part of one finger and seriously wounding him in the right hand and arm. Courageously ignoring the intense pain, he stanchly fought on until he was struck by a sniper's bullet and forced to submit to evacuation for medical treatment. Stouthearted and indomitable, Pvt. Cafferata, by his fortitude, great personal valor, and dauntless perseverance in the face of almost certain death, saved the lives of several of his fellow marines and contributed essentially to the success achieved by his company in maintaining its defensive position against tremendous odds. His extraordinary heroism throughout was in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
  • Citation for the Medal of Honor awarded to Cafferata, presented on 24 November 1952 by President Harry Truman at the White House, Washington, D.C.[1]

• Years later, Cafferata petitioned the Marines to have Benson also receive the Medal of Honor. It wasn't until early 2000 that Harvey Barnum, Jr, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Reserve Affairs, and himself a Marine Medal of Honor recipient, awarded Benson the Silver Star, our nation's third highest award for valor, for his actions that day, at a ceremony at Picatinny Arsenal. Benson passed away on March 23, 2012 at the age of 80.
  Cafferata's son Dale graduated from the United States Air Force Academy and became a helicopter pilot. Whenever his father visited him at an Air Base, the Air Force senior leadership would render honors to him, which he shunned.
  Cafferata's Medal of Honor citation has the words "stout-hearted" and "indomitable" but should have included "humble," which he truly was. Cafferata passed away on April 12, 2016 at age 86 and was buried at the Quantico National Cemetery in Virginia.
  • Frank Misurelli, "Marine Corps Medal of Honor recipient Hector A. Cafferata remembered as humble hero"[2], Army Times, 26 May 2016