Hector A. Cafferata Jr.

Fighting without boots, he held back repeated enemy attacks.

Hector Albert Cafferata Jr. was born in New York City on 4 November 1929 and grew up in New Jersey. His father had emigrated from Peru. After attending Boonton High School, Cafferata worked in manufacturing and played semiprofessional football. He enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in February 1948 and was called to active duty in September 1950.

Sent to Korea with Company F, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, he was caught in the Chinese assault around the Chosin Reservoir in November 1950. Early on 28 November, an attack inflicted casualties on the rest of his fire team. Cafferata fought on without his boots or overcoat, moving between firing positions and repeatedly engaging men approaching the Marine line. He used an entrenching tool to knock away grenades while continuing to operate his rifle.

When a grenade landed among wounded Marines, he seized it and threw it clear. It exploded as he released it, injuring his hand and arm. Despite his wounds he continued defending the position until he was hit again and evacuated. His resistance protected the wounded and helped prevent the line from being overwhelmed. President Harry Truman presented him with the Medal of Honor on 24 November 1952.

His injuries required a long recovery and ended his active Marine service. In civilian life he worked in outdoor equipment sales and operated a tavern in Alpha, New Jersey. He and his wife, Doris, raised four children. He later settled in Venice, Florida, remaining associated with Marine veterans and commemorations of the Korean War. He died there on 12 April 2016, aged 86, and was buried at Quantico National Cemetery.

Medal of Honor citation

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.