b. 31/01/1929 Kingsville, Texas. d. 29/10/2017 San Antonio, Texas.
DATE OF MOH ACTION: 14-15/06/1953 Sagimak, Korea.
Richard E Cavazos MOH
Richard Edward Cavazos was born on Jan. 31, 1929, in Kingsville, Texas, and grew up on a cattle ranch. Born to Mexican-American parents, Cavazos spent his childhood following in the footsteps of his World War I veteran-turned-ranch foreman father. Despite growing up in an era of intense racism, Cavazos’ parents managed to put all of their children through college, an unheard-of accomplishment for most Mexican-American families at that time. Cavazos attended Texas Technological College, now Texas Tech University, on a football scholarship until he broke his leg his sophomore year. After his recovery, Cavazos continued his education through the school’s ROTC program and graduated with distinction. In 1951, he was commissioned into the Army and completed basic officer training at Fort Benning, Georgia, now Fort Moore.
He was then deployed to Korea, where he was selected as platoon leader of E Company, 2nd Battalion, 65th Infantry Regiment. Known as the Borinqueneers, the 65th Infantry had been in Korea since the start of the war and was primarily made up of Soldiers from Puerto Rico, many of whom only spoke Spanish. Cavazos, who was raised bilingual, was a welcome addition after a series of commanders who spoke no Spanish, which resulted in confusion and chaos during battles.
Throughout his time in the Army, Cavazos believed that troops needed to have complete trust and faith in their commanding officer to achieve victory. As an example of his leadership, in February 1953, Cavazos, at first leading a few of his men and then going on alone once under attack by enemy fire, captured a wounded enemy soldier who had been left behind after an earlier skirmish. Cavazos was awarded a Silver Star for his bravery.
In June 1953, Cavazos’ leadership abilities were once again on display. He led his men on an assault of the enemy-held Hill 412 as part of a maneuver to cover Outpost Harry, an important defensive position near the hill. They soon came under heavy enemy artillery fire, which resulted in many American casualties. After successfully defending Outpost Harry through three intense hours of fighting, Cavazos received the order to return to friendly lines. Refusing to leave fallen and wounded American Soldiers behind, he repeatedly went back to rescue men, despite being wounded himself. His actions led to the Army awarding him the Distinguished Service Cross.
Cavazos rotated back to the United States in the fall of 1953, where he was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, now Fort Cavazos. After rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel, he was sent to Vietnam in 1967. There he became the commander of the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment. His style of leadership was immediately noticed by his troops.
“He was an atypical army officer in Vietnam,” remembered Bill Fee, who served under him. “Most battalion commanders stood in the rear or in a helicopter above to direct the battle … [He] had nothing to do with that. He fought on the ground with his troops during battle … he was on the ground with us as we were facing the North Vietnamese Army.”
Another testament to Cavazos’ loyalty to his men and their safety was when he organized a counterattack against enemy forces near Loc Ninh. He once again disregarded his personal safety and led an assault on the enemy’s hillside position, often exposing himself to hostile fire while moving among his troops. He directed such a barrage of artillery fire toward Viet Cong insurgents that the enemy soon fled. This counterattack led the Army to award him a second Distinguished Service Cross.
Cavazos is also remembered as a beloved mentor and teacher. His determination to share what he had learned throughout his career made him influential in the development of the Army’s Battle Command Training Program for high-ranking officers. Soldiers from all walks of life, including General Colin Powell, credited Cavazos for inspiring them stay in the Army. “I told him what he meant to us poor Hispanic kids,” recalled Maj. Gen. Alfred Valenzuela. “His impact as a mentor is probably the greatest impact our Army had … we all looked up to him as an American soldier, a Hispanic soldier. He was the guy we wanted to be. If we couldn’t be him, we wanted to be near him and serve with him.” Cavazos retired from the Army in 1984 after 33 years of service. Before his retirement, he made military history when the Army appointed him as the first Hispanic brigadier general in 1976 and then four-star general in 1982. Richard E. Cavazos passed away in 2017 at the age of 88 due to complications from Alzheimer’s.
On January 3, 2025, Cavazos was awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor presented at the White House by President Joseph R. Biden.
MOH CITATION:
The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Richard E. Cavazos (O-64593), First Lieutenant (Infantry), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while as Company Commander of Company E, 2d Battalion, 65th Infantry Regiment, 3d Infantry Division. First Lieutenant Cavazos distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action against enemy aggressor forces in the vicinity of Sagimak, Korea, on the night of 14 June 1953. On that date, Lieutenant Cavazos led his men in a raid on the entrenched enemy upon whom heavy casualties were inflicted. When a heavy barrage was laid on the position by the enemy, Lieutenant Cavazos withdrew the company and regrouped his men. Lieutenant Cavazos three times led the company through the heavy barrage in assaults on the enemy position, each time destroying vital enemy equipment and personnel. When the United Nations element was ordered to withdraw, Lieutenant Cavazos remained alone on the enemy outpost to search the area for missing men. Exposed to heavy hostile fire, Lieutenant Cavazos located five men who had been wounded in the action. He evacuated them, one at a time, to a point on the reverse slope of the hill from which they could be removed to the safety of the friendly lines. Lieutenant Cavazos then made two more trips between the United Nations position and the enemy-held hill searching for casualties and evacuating scattered groups of men who had become confused. Not until he was assured that the hill was cleared did he allow treatment of his own wounds sustained during the action.
BURIAL LOCATION: FORT SAM HOUSTON NATIONAL CEMETERY, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS.
SECTION PG, SITE 51.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: FAMILY.
