On Friday, May 28th, Prince William County held a private ceremony to officially add the name of Major L. Eduardo Caravo, formerly of Woodbridge, to the county’s War Memorial located at the McCoart Complex.
The ceremony, scheduled to coincide with Memorial Day Weekend, added Caraveo’s name to a list of 125 county residents who have made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of the United States from World War I through present.
Major L. Eduardo Caraveo was born in Ciudad Juarez Mexico in 1957. Growing up in Juarez, he moved to El Paso Texas as a teenager, knowing very little English. Despite this, he graduated from The University of Texas at El Paso with a Bachelors of Science in 1979 and a Masters in Education in 1980. He also earned a Masters in Psychology from Texas Tech University, a Doctoral Degree in Psychology from The University of Arizona and completed a Post Doctorate M.S. in Clinical Psychopharmacology at New Mexico State University. He was the first in his family to earn a college degree.
Major Caraveo worked in private practice until he felt the call to serve his nation and entered the Army Reserves in March of 1999 at the age of 42. In November of 2009, he was preparing for his first overseas deployment to help soldiers deal with the stresses of war when he was tragically killed along with 13 other service members during the terrorist attack at the Fort Hood Army Base in Texas. He was subsequently awarded The Purple Heart Medal and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Upon taking office, Coles District constituents Dan and Chris Gates, along with VFW Post 1503 and the Dale City Purple Heart Chapter, introduced Major Caraveo’s story to Supervisor Vega and noted they had been trying for years to get the county to amend its criteria for adding former residents to the war memorial. Supervisor Vega then worked with the Office of Communications, County Attorney’s Office, and her Board colleagues last spring to close the loophole that precluded active-duty residents who had lost their lives due to government defined terror attacks.
Supervisor Vega was honored to give prepared remarks at the ceremony honoring the local hero and to introduce and present a wreath to Major Caraveo’s surviving spouse who came from Arizona. She was joined by 20-25 of Major Caraveo’s other surviving loved ones.
To visit and honor the 125 individuals whose names are inscribed, please visit Prince William County War Memorial at Freedom Park, 1 County Complex Court, Woodbridge, VA 22192.
– Coles District Staff