Two local veterans honored
Two local veterans were honored during a Veterans Day observance
last Sunday, Nov. 11 by the San Benito County chapter of League of
United Latin American Citizens.
Two local veterans honored
Two local veterans were honored during a Veterans Day observance last Sunday, Nov. 11 by the San Benito County chapter of League of United Latin American Citizens.
Matthew J. Caffiero and Refugio Chavez were guests of honor at a breakfast hosted by the organization.
Caffiero served with the U.S. Army as a high-level intelligence specialist during the current Iraq conflict. He was on active duty from August 2001 to March of last year.
Chavez, known to his friends by a variety of nicknames, was born at the end of Third Street in San Juan Bautista in 1946. After the death of his parents when he was 4, Chavez was brought up by his uncle and aunt, Rafael and Mary Chavez, who were migrant workers.
After graduating from Hollister High in 1964, Chavez began attending barber school and began work as an apprentice barber for three months. He was drafted into the Army in 1967 and underwent basic training in Fort Polk, LA.
He was sent to Vietnam later that year. While there, he served as an infantry soldier, carrying ammo and probing tunnels.
He was wounded in January 1968, loaded on a helicopter and pronounced dead. Soon after, the pilot noticed movement in one of the body bags. Chavez was alive.
After surgery and a month’s recovery, he was told he would never walk again. Today he runs recreationally.
He and his wife of 37 years are the parents of four children, Ralphie, Eileen, Dee Dee and Cuco. Chavez, his wife and four grown children all continue to reside in San Benito County.
Caffiero is a justice studies student at San Jose State University.
In addition to serving in Iraq, he was stationed in South Korea from April 2002 to July 2003.
The LULAC breakfast was sponsored in part by Allstate Insurance and Roger Soell.
