Jon Cavaiani, a retired Army sergeant major and former prisoner of war who was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1974 for fending off an overwhelming number of enemy soldiers in Vietnam while allowing most of his men to escape, died on July 29, 2014 in Stanford, CA. He was 70.

On Wednesday, November 5, 2014 at 12:45 PM at the Post Chapel , Arlington National Cemetery burial with full military honors of Jon Robert Cavaiani (August 2, 1943 – July 29, 2014) Jon was a U.S. Army soldier, a POW and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration — the Medal of Honor — for his actions in the Vietnam War.

The Fort Myer Old Post Chapel was fulled to capacity, so many of us just waited outside for services to finish.

The hurst has now left and the Caisson Platoon HHC, 1st Battalion, 3d U.S. Infantry Regimant moves into place.

The horses name is “Peter” he is twenty years old and is wearing this mak because he has cataracts.

These caissons were built in 1918, and used for 75mm cannons. They were originally equipped with ammunition chests, spare wheels, and tools used for the cannons. Today these have been removed and replaced with the flat deck on which the casket rests.

The silence of the procession is broken only by the rhythmic clip-clop of the seven handsome horses. Astride four of the horses, Soldiers sit ramrod straight. The horses, head erect, bodies taut and controlled, seem to imitate the solemn military bearing of the men and women who sit quietly in the saddles.

Six of the horses pull a flag draped casket on a black artillery caisson. Both Soldiers and horses are conscious that this is no ordinary ride through a cool, shady country lane. They have the honor of carrying a comrade for his last ride to Arlington National Cemetery, where he will rest in peace with other honored dead.

Seven of Jon's good friends, also Medal of Honor recipients served as honorary pallbearers.
From left to right: Col. Roger Donlon, Col. Harvey C. (Barney) Barnum, Lt. Michael E. Thornton, Sergeant First Class Gary Lee Littrell, Col. Walter Joseph Marm, Jr., 2nd Lt. Walter “Joe” Marm, and 1st Lt Brian M Thacker.

The solemn dignity which the riders and horses lend to this ceremony is neither accidental nor instinctive. Soldiers and horses train constantly for this duty. They are members of the Caisson platoon of the 3d United States Infantry "The Old Guard."

Most of these men and women come to Ft. Myer, Virginia not as expert horseman, but as trained infantrymen, skilled in their individual fields and technologically proficient. A new Soldier on this team must undergo rigorous training on a riding style the Army hasn’t used anywhere else since 1948.

Jon Cavaiani, a retired Army sergeant major and former prisoner of war who was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1974 for fending off an overwhelming number of enemy soldiers in Vietnam while allowing most of his men to escape, died on July 29, 2014 in Stanford, CA. He was 70.

On the morning of June 4, 1971, Staff Sgt. Cavaiani’s platoon — part of an elite Special Forces reconnaissance unit — was attacked by a much larger force while defending a radio relay site nicknamed Hickory Hill in rugged North Vietnamese territory.
Bombarded by mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire, his Medal of Honor citation said, he “acted with complete disregard for his personal safety as he repeatedly exposed himself to heavy enemy fire.”

When Sergeant Cavaiani and the remaining platoon members could not halt the enemy advance, he ordered his men to escape while he laid down covering fire. As they ran, the citation said, he “recovered a machine gun, stood up, completely exposing himself to the heavy enemy fire directed at him, and began firing the machine gun in a sweeping motion.” Most of his men escaped.

Sergeant Cavaiani was severely wounded. He told the PBS series ”American Valor” that he had “almost 120 shrapnel holes in me, and a couple of bullet holes.”

He said he had played dead when enemy soldiers took the hill and then hid in the jungle for more than 10 days before he was captured. He spent 23 months as a prisoner of war, much of that time in solitary confinement. He was released in March 1973. President Gerald R. Ford presented him with the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration, on Dec. 12, 1974.

Jon Robert Cavaiani was born on Aug. 2, 1943, in Murphys, Ireland. He lived in England until moving to the farming community of Ballico, CA., in the early 1950s.

He had been classified 4F, or unfit for military service, largely because of an allergy to bee stings, when he tried to join the Army in 1969. He said he had persuaded the examining doctor to let him enlist.

After returning from Vietnam, Jon spent much of his career as a Special Forces instructor and retired in 1990. His other medals include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star and Purple Heart with one oak leaf cluster.

Like many veterans, Sergeant Cavaiani preferred not to recall wartime heroics. “I don’t care to get into details,” he told The Modesto Bee in 2003. “I’ve spent too much time trying to forget them.”

After the flag is folded, the senior pallbearer executes a Right Face and places the flag at chest level into the hands of the CAO (Casualty Assistance Officer).

The CAO salutes the flag for three seconds before accepting it from the senior pallbearer. The senior pallbearer salutes the flag for three seconds after presenting it to the CAO. The CAO then moves by the most direct route to the next of kin who is to receive the flag.

Upon presentation, the CAO renders these remarks, Ma'am, this flag is presented on behalf of a grateful nation as an expression of appreciation for the honorable and faithful service rendered by your loved one.

'Danny Boy'

On Saturday, December 13, 2014 during Wearths Across America got to help place a wreath at Jon's gravesite.

Jon Robert Cavaiani ( August 2, 1943 – July 29, 2014 )