HECTOR A CAFFERATA JR ESB 8
Ship Name and Designation History
This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.
Naming ceremony by SecNav Carlos Del Toro, 27 July 2023 Keel Laid 25 April 2024 - Launched & Christened TBD |
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This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each name of the ship (for example, Bushnell AG-32 / Sumner AGS-5 are different names for the same ship so there should be one set of pages for Bushnell and one set for Sumner). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).
Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.
- USS HECTOR A. CAFFERATA JR. ESB-8 Covers Page 1 (DATE RANGE)
Postmarks
This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each name and/or commissioning period. Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.
A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an
image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN
THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the
existing example.
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Postmark Date |
Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image |
Thumbnail Link To Cover Image |
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Other Information
NAMESAKE- Private First Class Hector Albert Cafferata Jr., USMCR (4 November 1929 – 12 April 2016)
Cafferata was born in New York City and raised in the Lake Hiawatha section of Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey. Cafferata enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve on 15 February 1948. He was a member of the 21st Reserve Infantry Battalion at Dover, NJ, until he was called to active duty on 6 September 1950. After additional training at Camp Pendleton, CA, PFC Cafferata embarked for Korea in October 1950, joining the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division.
Cafferata distinguished himself during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, single-handedly holding off a regimental-sized enemy force and "annihilating two enemy platoons" after nearly all of his fire team had been killed or seriously wounded. Only he and fellow Marine Kenneth Benson were left able to resist, and Benson was temporarily blinded after a grenade went off near his face. Benson kept reloading Cafferata's M-1 rifle for him, while Cafferata, a crack shot, fought the enemy without either his coat or his boots, neither of which he could locate in the early morning darkness. The fight started in the early morning and lasted over five hours. When a live grenade fell into the shallow entrenchment occupied by his wounded fellow Marines, he grabbed it and hurled it away — saving the lives of many but suffering severe wounds. Finally, he was seriously wounded by a sniper, but was rescued by other Marines. He was evacuated to Japan in December 1950. Cafferata returned to the United States in January for treatment at the US Naval Hospital, St. Albans, NY. He was placed on the medically retired list on 1 September 1951. On 24 November 1952, Marine PFC Cafferata received the Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman during ceremonies at the White House.
PFC Cafferata military awards are the Medal of Honor, the Purple Heart Medal, the Navy Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon w/ 1 service star, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Service Medal w/ 1 service star, the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon and the United Nations Korea Medal.
The ships sponsors are Heather Cafferata, daughter of Hector Cafferata and his granddaughter, Jessica Cafferata.
If you have images or information to add to this page, then either contact the Curator or edit this page yourself and add it. See Editing Ship Pages for detailed information on editing this page.
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