Heroes among us
When I left active duty to come
home and join an estate planning and elder law practice in Venice , I wasn ’ t sure if I would be suited to the transactional practice of law since I had been litigating military cases for years . How was a transactional practice going to scratch the same itch as litigation ? As it turns out , hearing the life stories of my clients as we work out planning their legacies is constantly surprising , almost always interesting , and often humbling . Such was the case of Hector A . Cafferata , Jr .
I discovered Mr . Cafferata somewhat by accident . I looked at the Wikipedia page for Venice , Fla ., and noted that there was a Medal of Honor recipient among the notable residents . As I was reviewing information from a firm data migration , I realized that he was an estate planning client of the firm . I was honored . Hector died in 2016 . I never met him , but I was inspired to write about him for this article in honor of Hispanic Heritage month .
Hector was born in New York to a Peruvian migrant . He grew up in New Jersey , played semi-pro football , and joined the United States Marine Corps in 1948 . He deployed to Korea in 1950 . While there , he took part in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir , where Chinese forces surprised U . S . and U . N . forces in one of the most brutal battles in modern warfare . Jolted awake by the attack , many of his comrades were either
SOUTH COUNTY DIVISION / HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH
SOUTH COUNTY PRESIDENT ’ S COLUMN
Anthony G . Mowry , Esq . Mowry Law Office
killed or injured by the attack . He gathered weapons from the fallen Marines , crawled with a fellow Marine to a shallow trench , and proceeded to wage battle for more than five hours . He threw grenades at opposing forces , fired his M1 rifle so much it turned to charcoal , and used his trench shovel to bat away enemy grenades even though , in his words , he “ was the world ’ s worst baseball player .” An explosion severed his finger and implanted shrapnel in his body . Yet he fought on .
His citation read that 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 .” According to Hector , however , the story was a bit different . He said , “ 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 .”
Hector embodied the best of America . He was prouder of his service to the United States , a country that welcomed his migrant father , than he was of an award that the county bestowed upon him . I am in awe of the award that he received but humbled by the man who was a member of our community .
SCD Board of Directors 2020 – 2021
President Anthony Mowry
President-Elect Patrick Reilly
Treasurer Erin Itts
Secretary AJ Stickley
Immediate Past President Bryan Kessler
DIRECTORS Lance Ball Dawn Marie Bates-Buchanan Mark Creech Jacqulyn Mack-Majka Kayla Tipple
SAVE THE DATE
South County Division Virtual Town Hall
October 22 , 2020 12:00 – 1:00 p . m .
Trivia / Happy Hour Networking Event
November 13 , 2020 6:00 – 7:00 p . m .
South County Division Virtual Town Hall
December 15 , 2020 12:00 – 1:00 p . m .
The Docket · October 2020 9