Veteran
Patrick McCaffery

Interview by:

Brooke Williams and Cole Ventimiglia

"One thing that people say that I don’t agree with it is you know you’re gonna go to school, you should enlist or something. It doesn’t really work that way. You have to have a passion. To go through the things that the Marine Corps are gonna put you through, you better be passionate."

~ Pat McCaffrey (30:20)

Pat McCaffrey's Story

Growing up in Massachusetts, Pat McCaffrey knew exactly what he wanted to do when he was older. Pat had wanted to enlist in the military as a Marine ever since he was child. When Pat turned 18, that's exactly what he did.

Without knowing about all the jobs you could be as a Marine, he blindly signed up to be a rifleman after being inspired by movies. In 1992, he went off to training in South Carolina to prepare for service. After boot camp in South Carolina, Pat headed to Virginia for specialized training. Eventually, Pat's training had finished, about a year in total.

Shortly after completing his training, he was deployed to Panama to help guard a jet fuel base in the heart of the jungle. While in Panama, Mr. McCaffrey participated in competitions against his "brother-in-arms" called Marine of the Quarter contests where he participated in acts of athleticism for prizes. After winning the Marine of The Quarter, Pat was asked to start training for the Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel team, or TRAP team. After 18 long months in Panama, Pat went to Camp Pendleton in California to train for his new team. There, he did all types of things to help prepare him for what he had to do when he went to Thailand.

After California, Pat flew to Japan where he'd be shipped off to an unknown destination with his squad. He soon ended up in Thailand with the TRAP team. Being a part of the TRAP team, his job was to board a helicopter and find shot down air crafts. Then, he would take recordings on the shot down air crafts like the cause of the crash and retrieve anything in the fallen aircraft that may have value to the United States. After stopping by Thailand and Singapore for short visits, Pat and his team started heading back to the states. There, after 4 years of service, he went back to Massachusetts ending his military service.

Pat now has a family in South Dennis including a son who is following in his footsteps, currently enlisted as a rifleman in the Marine Corps. Now, Pat works as a Police Officer in Dennis which is exactly what he wanted to do as a child after his service. Without any regrets, Pat's military experience reached all of his expectations, changing him from the teen he was, into the spectacular man Pat McCaffrey is today.