Marine Picks Up Shovel, Teaches Enemy the Meaning of “Semper Fi”
Courage. That’s a word that’s tossed around a lot, often where it isn’t due. But there are some men who truly embody it like few of us will ever understand.
Hector Cafferata was an American hero who served his country faithfully during the Korean War. There, he fought off an entire regiment of communist Chinese by himself, at one point swatting off a dozen live grenades with a shovel. Amazing
Cafferata passed away in 2016 at age 86. His exploits in Korea as a member of the United States Marine Corps live on forever as an example of real valor in the line of duty. If only we had more Americans like this great man!
Cafferata joined the Marine Corps Reserve in 1948. He was activated in 1952 for the Korean War. There, he was assigned to the 1st Marine Division and participated in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir as a private first class.
This was one of the most decisive battles of the Korean War, and both sides suffered heavy casualties. Cafferata recounts how he awoke abruptly at 1:30 a.m. on November 28, 1950. Chinese forces had attacked.
When the other members of his squad were killed or critically wounded, it was up to Private Cafferata to face the enemy on his own. A fellow Marine, Kenneth Benson, was temporarily blinded by the explosion of a grenade but helped Cafferata reload his rifle.
The ground was covered in deep snow. Cafferata and Benson crawled into a narrow trench on the side of a hill for cover. From there, Cafferata fought for the next five hours, dropping one enemy combatant after another.
The situation was as dangerous as could be. The Chinese assailants lunged multiple hand grenades at the two Americans. Cafferata picked up the live grenades and threw them back! He even used his shovel to swat the grenades back at the enemy army. Ironically, Cafferata says he was an abysmal baseball player back home.
The explosion of one grenade severed Cafferata’s finger and left shrapnel embedded in his right arm. At daybreak, he was seriously wounded by a sniper. Nevertheless, he kept fighting. Some of the Chinese soldiers were as close as 15 feet away. Thankfully, Cafferata and Benson were rescued by American forces as his condition was becoming critical.
Amazingly, Cafferata had battled all that time without wearing boots or a coat. His feet were blue from frostbite. Nevertheless, he had given his all. In later recollections of the event, Cafferata’s rescuers remembered seeing 100 dead Chinese on the scene. They only left off that number from the official report because they thought their superiors wouldn’t believe them.
Because of the seriousness of his wounds, it took Hector Cafferata 18 months in military hospitals to recover. For his exemplary service, he was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Harry Truman at the White House in 1952. After the war, he sold hunting and fishing equipment, worked for the New Jersey Wildlife Service, and owned a bar.
Eventually, Hector Cafferata moved to Venice, FL, where he passed away in 2016. A school in Cape Coral is named after him and he was featured in the book Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty.
Remember: Men like Hector Cafferata are the reason we can live comfortably in this beautiful free country. Let’s honor him and all our vets by fighting tirelessly in the cause of LIBERTY.