The Elks Lodge in Sonora hosted a Celebration of
Life for SMG Jon R Cavaiani yesterday. I’m proud to have been there to
express my personal respect for a national hero that that made his home here in
Columbia with this wife Barbara. I met members of the extended family and it
was good to see that, though the lodge was not at capacity as I’d hoped,
there was a significant turn out of friends, service buddies, veterans and many
of those that Jon had assisted in his years of volunteer public service.
Representative Tom McClintock attended the service
but did not address the crowd. I was pleased that he made the effort to travel
from Sacramento just to shake hands with Jon’s brother and express his
condolences to the family. In my view it was a great expression of our nation’s
gratitude for the Uncommon Valor, Above and Beyond the Call of Duty that
Congressional Medal of Honor recipients have provided in defense of our
Constitutional freedoms.
In operations with his Special Forces Team in
Vietnam, Jon displayed his willingness to risk all for his country, the men of
his team and the ARVIN Rangers he fought beside. Upon his return home he became
a friend to all Veterans, a respected member of our community and unfailingly
stopped whatever he was doing to assist a person in need.
Onward,
Bill Lewis
Sonora, CA
