Hector A Cafferata Jr
On the 4th of November, 1929 in New York City, Hector was born and he grew up in New Jersey, attending elementary school in Parsippany-Troy Hills and graduating from Boonton High School. Hector played football for three years in high school, which continued after graduating, as well as being employed by the Sun Dial Corporation in Caldwell, New Jersey. At the age of 19, he enlisted in the US Marine Corps Reserve and was activated on the 6th of September, 1950. One month later, Hector was a Private First Class and deployed to Korea with the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division. It was his actions with only one other Marine against a regimental-sized enemy force that would earn him the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:
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, Second Battalion, Seventh Marines, First Marine Division (Reinforced), in action against enemy aggressor forces in Korea on 28 November 1950. 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, Private 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 fifteen, 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, Private 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 staunchly fought on until he was struck by a sniper's bullet and forced to submit to evacuation for medical treatment. Stouthearted and indomitable, Private 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 United States Naval Service.
Hector did all of this without his coat or boots, which he was unable to find in the darkness, and continued to do so for over five hours. He told the Washington Post that he had been batting dozens of the incoming grenades like a baseballs with his entrenching tool while shooting his rifle. He was finally evacuated to Japan and then the States for treatment at the US Naval Hospital in St Albans, New York. Nine months later he was medically retired due to his injuries but one year after that, on the 24th of November, 1952, President Truman awarded him the Medal of Honor in a ceremony at the White House.
Hector went on to sell hunting and fishing equipment in New Jersey, as well as worked for the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, on top of running the Cliffside Tavern in Alpha, New Jersey. He would attend an occasional Medal of Honor ceremony but rarely spoke about his own experiences. He told the Washington Post, “I did my duty. I protected my fellow Marines. They protected me. And I'm prouder of that than the fact that the government decided to give me the Medal of Honor”. A 23 mile section of Interstate 287 in New Jersey is named in his honor, as well as an elementary school in Cape Coral, Florida, which was the first school in Florida to be named after a living Medal of Honor Recipient. Hector also appeared on two stamps in 2014 issued by the United States Postal Service, honoring the last 13 living recipients from the Korean War. He and his wife of more than 50 years, Doris, had four children and on the 12th of April, 2016, Hector Albert Cafferata Jr died at the age of 86 in Venice, Florida. He is buried in the Quantico National Cemetery in Quantico, Virginia: Section 24, Site 30.
