Jon R. Cavaiani

He remained behind under fire to cover his platoon's escape.

Jon Robert Lemmons was born in Royston, England, in 1943. He came to the United States as a child, later took the surname Cavaiani, and enlisted in the U.S. Army at Fresno, California, on 7 May 1969. He completed infantry, airborne, and Special Forces training and served with the 5th Special Forces Group and USARV Training Advisory Group in Vietnam.

On 4 and 5 June 1971, Staff Sergeant Cavaiani led the defense of an isolated radio relay site in Quang Tri Province. During the attack, he moved among the defenders under fire, returned fire, and directed the evacuation helicopters. When the enemy renewed its assault the next morning, he ordered the remaining defenders to escape while he stayed behind with a machine gun to cover them. Wounded repeatedly, he was captured. The Army's official history identifies the site as Hill 950.

Cavaiani was held as a prisoner of war from 1971 until his repatriation in 1973. President Gerald Ford presented him the Medal of Honor on 12 December 1974. He later served as an instructor and in Special Forces and Army assignments in the United States and Germany. He attained Sergeant Major in 1988 and retired on 31 May 1990. He died on 29 July 2014.