Army Ranger Specialist James Manuel Cavaco, 26, of Forestdale, Mass, served in Company B, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. He was killed October 3, 1993, in Mogadishu, Somalia, while his Humvee convoy attempted to reach soldiers trapped near a downed Black Hawk helicopter. The convoy came under intense automatic-weapons and grenade fire during the battle commonly known as “Black Hawk Down.”

James was born February 12, 1967, in Attleboro, Massachusetts, and earned an associate degree from Cape Cod Community College. Seeking a meaningful career, he enlisted as an infantryman in 1991 at age 24. He completed infantry and airborne training, the Ranger Indoctrination Program and Ranger School before joining the 75th Ranger Regiment.

His mother, Barbara, remembered that even the hardships of Ranger School appealed to him: “As brutal as Ranger School was, he loved it.” James played rock guitar and often entertained —or playfully annoyed— his barracks companions.

James was survived by his parents, Joseph and Barbara Cavaco, and two older siblings.