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James Manuel Cavaco was born in Attleboro, Massachusetts on February 12, 1967. He was born to parents Barbara and Joseph Cavaco, and was the youngest of two brothers. At age five the family moved a few miles to Rehoboth. Here James spent the next six years growing up with nature, and patriotism. There was a barn, and chickens, rabbits, pigs and chores. During the Bicentennial, James carried a musket in the Rehoboth junior militia.In 1978 the family moved to Sandwich, Ma. For a few years James enjoyed building models, winning first place in a local contest for his Panther tank. At age 13 he began a life long love of music, buying all the albums of all his favorite rock groups like AC\ DC, The Who and others. He began playing the guitar, spending many hours practicing and teaching himself. By high school James transferred to Upper Cape Regional Vocational Technical School majoring in plumbing and heating.After graduation from Upper Cape in 1985, James attended Cape Cod Community College. He wrote music and played guitar in a band with several friends. He worked on and off doing plumbing . He also worked a number of other jobs including being a self-employed landscaper. He made some good friends and had a few girl friends. For the last few years before joining the Army, James was unsure of himself and mainly unhappy with what he was doing with his life.James found happiness and purpose when he joined the Army. After signing up in the Spring of 1991 he needed to wait several months before heading to basic training. He gained about twenty pounds in the interim, working out by himself. He got an old back-pack and filled it with sand and rocks and would run around the blockHe did push ups and sit ups and everything he could to prepare himself. He did well in training and came to embody the Ranger Creed. He firmly believed in himself and his duty. James Cavaco was 26 when killed in Somalia.
Casey Joyce is, to all of us, something all communities is the United States need: A Hometown HeroOn October 3, 1993, a young Army Ranger was in Somalia as part of the force trying to contain the warlords that were wreaking havoc on the starving people of Mogadishu. The powers-that-be decided to launch a raid to capture the dreaded warlord, Mohammed Adid. The raid was made up of about 120 Rangers and Delta Force Operators.The fire fight had raged for hours. By the time the sun came the next morning, and the smoke cleared, of the 120 Americans in combat, 18 were dead and 73 wounded. Over 2500 Somalis lay dead or wounded.During this long and vicious battle, a young Ranger had fallen from one of the helicopters and was terribly injured. Without help, the medics said he would die. One man stepped forward and volunteered to set off alone in search of a medivac vehicle, following the Ranger Creed of "....never will I leave a fallen comrade..." This young Ranger was different from thousands of other troops in Somalia, he was ours!! He was a graduate of Plano Senior High School. Ranger Casey Joyce was killed in action and was decorated with the Bronze Star for Valor for his heroic rescue efforts. He was also awarded the Purple Heart and the Combat Infantry Badge.Casey Joyce was born August 15, 1969 at Fort Rucker, Alabama. He attended the University of Texas at Austin and the University of North Texas at Denton.He enlisted in the Army in November 1990, completed Airborne Training and earned the coveted Ranger tab. He served with the B Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, GA.Sergeant James Casey Joyce is survived by his wife, DeAnna, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. David Gray of Plano; his mother, Gail Joyce, of Granbury, TX; a brother, Steven, of Atlanta, and his wife, Mandy; a sister, Sancy Joyce of Austin. LTC (Ret) Larry Joyce, Casey's father, passed away in early 1999.
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